


The Neighborhood

by WigletsMom



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative Universe - FBI, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, FBI Agent Ben Solo, FBI Agent Rey (Star Wars), Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Kidnapping, Minor Character Death, Reylo - Freeform, Serial Killers, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Terrorism, The Truth is Out There, there will be smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:42:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23431123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WigletsMom/pseuds/WigletsMom
Summary: “What’s the matter, Wifey?” Ben said as he patted the space on the mattress next to him. “Nervous for our first night together as a married couple?”“You wish, Solo.” Rey muttered.In which Ben and Rey are FBI agents posing as a married couple to investigate several missing persons in a small neighborhood.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 189
Kudos: 800





	1. Moving Day

_ Bayside, Maryland _

_ April 1 _

The sun was beginning to set on an unseasonably warm spring evening in the town of Bayside, Maryland. Rey Johnson was walking between a moving van and the garage of a cute colonial-style single family home at 221 Baker Street. She was carrying empty boxes from the truck to the garage, pretending to move into her new home. This was all for show, of course. Rey Johnson wasn’t really moving in. She was an undercover FBI agent.

“Can you carry this box, Babe?” Rey called down the ramp of the moving van.

Ben Solo stepped into the garage and looked up to Rey. He ran his hands through his dark wavy hair and sighed.

“Sure, Babe!” he called with mock enthusiasm and walked up the ramp to grab a large box. When he got to the top of the ramp, he hissed to her, “Stop calling me  _ Babe _ .”

“Whatever you say, Babe!” Rey chirped loudly as she carried a wooden dining chair down the ramp. Her ponytail swished as she turned her head back to smirk at her new partner.

Ben followed her down the ramp as they deposited their items in the garage. 

“Hi, neighbors!” Came a voice from the street.

_ Finally! _ Rey thought. They had been pretending to move in all day in hopes of meeting some of the neighbors in their exclusive new community.

Ben and Rey both turned to see a petite elderly woman approaching with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. She was wearing a yellow flowered dress and a blue apron covered in baking flour. She had thick cat-eye glasses and that adorable old lady hair that was more blue than grey.

“I’m Maz Kanata, your next door neighbor and the official Welcome Wagon for the Bayside community!” She held out the plate of cookies toward Rey.

“Hi Maz! I am Rey Solo, and this is my husband Ben.” Rey accepted the cookies with a smile. 

“Nice to meet you,” Ben said, shaking Maz’s hand.

“Oooh firm handshake. I like that. Well it’s certainly nice to have more young people in our community. There are far too many old farts around here. Especially that HOA president, Victor Snoke.” 

“Thank you for the cookies. I’m a chef, so I appreciate baked goods.” Rey said with a smile.

“A chef! Excellent. Have me over to dinner once you’re all unpacked. I like to eat.” Maz laughed.

“We would love to. Ben here  _ loves  _ dinner parties.” Rey said. She looked over to Ben who had a fake smile plastered on his face. “Although, he always makes me cook healthy things. He’s a personal trainer. Totally obsessed with his fitness.” Rey said rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

“Well my wife is a genius in the kitchen. She makes even boring things like tofu taste amazing.” Ben draped his arm around Rey’s shoulder and smiled at her.

“Aww, thanks  _ Babe _ . You are the greatest.” Rey smiled up at Ben.

“Aren’t you two adorable.” Maz said as she adjusted her thick glasses. She squinted at Ben and said, “If I was 30 years younger you would be in trouble, young man.” She winked at Rey and turned to leave. “If you kids need anything, just come on over.” 

As soon as Maz was out of earshot, Rey leaned into Ben and whispered, “See, we’ve already made a friend in the neighborhood. And you thought I wouldn’t be able to handle this operation.” 

Ben leaned into Rey and ran his finger softly along her jawline. When his fingers reached her chin he gently tipped up her face toward his. 

_ Is he going to kiss me??? _ Rey clutched the plate of cookies with a death grip.

He leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Like I said two weeks ago _ , Babe _ , this is going to be a disaster.” He grabbed the plate of cookies from Rey’s hands and turned into the house. 

Rey stood alone in the garage with her eyes closed and her thighs clenched together. She could still feel the trail of his fingers on her face.

\----

_ Two weeks ago _

_ FBI Headquarters, Washington, DC _

“What am I looking at, exactly?” Rey Johnson asked as she flipped through a file that her boss had handed her.

“Three missing persons cases. All three victims are women in their mid or late twenties. All lived alone in the same neighborhood. All disappeared in the past year without a trace. No signs of a struggle. No ransom demands. No bodies found. No suspects.” 

Rey quickly flipped through the profiles. 

Jessica Pava, age 27. Dentist. 200 Baker Street, Bayside, Maryland.

Paige Tico, age 28. Owner of Namaste Yoga Studio. 401 Baker Street, Bayside, Maryland.

Bazine Netal, age 24. Wedding & Event Planner. 275 Baker Street, Bayside, Maryland.

Rey looked up at her boss. Luke Skywalker had been a legend at the FBI for years. He had quickly risen in the ranks to the position of FBI Director. His first case rocketed him to the top when he took down a major crime boss known as Palpatine. Her coworkers whispered that he had some kind of sixth sense about people. They said he could read emotions and anticipate people's actions. Luke Skywalker was Rey’s hero, the reason she joined the FBI. At 24 years old, Rey had been working on small cases from her tiny cubicle in the basement level of the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. So far, she had busted a handful of low level cyber criminals. She had a long way to go to reach the legendary status of her hero, Luke Skywalker.

“They all lived in the same neighborhood? On Baker Street?” Rey asked looking down again at the photos of the three women.

“Yes. The community of Bayside in Maryland. It’s about thirty minutes from here. The community attracts a lot of young and wealthy people. So far, the only connection we have is that these three women all lived just a few blocks apart,” Luke stopped and frowned before continuing, “Agent Johnson, I need your help.”

“ _ My  _ help?” Rey looked up astonished, “But I don’t work on missing persons cases. I’ve spent the last year working in the cyber crimes unit.” 

“I know this isn’t your usual wheelhouse. But, our profilers have come up with an idea to infiltrate the community. I want to set you up with a home in the neighborhood for a few weeks. I need you to meet the neighbors, see what you can find out about these women.” 

Rey’s mouth fell open. She was trying to figure out how to protest Director Skywalker’s request. Moving to a new neighborhood for several weeks did not sound appealing, but it’s not like Rey would be leaving much behind. She had no family, having been orphaned as a young child. Her parents had been drunks who had left her, literally, in the middle of nowhere. A family had found her on the side of the road in the desert outside of Las Vegas with a sign taped to her shirt, “Free kid.” Rey had grown up in the foster system, bouncing from home to home. She ended up living in a small bedroom in Unkar Plutt’s garage. It was a very Harry Potter/cupboard under the stairs type living situation. Rey didn’t like to think about it. Or talk about it.

Her job was her life and as a result she had very few friends. In reality, Rey was very lonely. Dropping everything to move to a neighborhood for an undercover operation was probably the most exciting thing to ever happen to her. Rey felt her heart hammering in her chest. Maybe this would be her chance to finally be recognized and move up in the ranks the way Luke Skywalker had. 

Sensing her increasing anxieties, Luke held up a hand in a calming gesture, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to send you in there alone on your first big undercover operation. I’ll partner you up with someone. If you pose as a married couple, you might be able to recon the neighborhood faster.”

Rey was almost afraid to ask, “Who?”

Luke pushed a button on his desk. “Mara, can you have Agent Solo report to my office?”

Rey felt her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “You want  _ me _ ...to pretend to be married...to Ben Solo?”

“Yes. Is that going to be a problem, Agent Johnson?” Luke asked, looking her in the eyes. 

“Not at all, Director Skywalker. I won’t let you down.” Rey tugged nervously at the skirt of her pant suit.

“I know, Rey.” Luke smiled at her. “Ahh, Agent Solo. Come in. I’d like to introduce you to your new partner, Agent Rey Johnson. Although I guess you will be calling her Rey Solo for the next few weeks.”

“Wait, what?” Ben Solo asked as he shot a confused glance at Rey. Rey lowered her eyes, unable to meet his gaze.

Special Agent Ben Solo. Giant tree of a man. God's gift to women. Sexy wavy brown hair that he constantly ran his hands through. Hot temper. Hotter body. Top Agent in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. He had a reputation for catching serial killers and he was only 34 years old. Did she mention “giant tree of a man?”

“Agent Johnson will be your partner in the undercover operation that we discussed this morning.” Luke said gesturing to Rey.

“Absolutely not.” Ben spat out. He didn’t even look at Rey. He continued on as if she wasn’t even in the room, “There is no way I am partnering with a rookie for this investigation. I can’t spend my days babysitting her if you expect me to investigate three missing persons. There has to be someone else you can partner me with.”

_ I’m not a rookie! _ Rey could feel her cheeks getting warm. She imagined that her face looked like a giant tomato. _ He’s probably still pissed about the day we met. _

The two had met a few months ago during a rather unfortunate encounter in the FBI’s underground parking garage. Rey was walking to her car at the end of the day, looking at her phone and not paying attention to where she was going. She walked straight into the massive muscular chest of Agent Ben Solo. It was like crashing into a brick wall. His hands grabbed around her waist and pushed her back. He had made a snide comment about children being addicted to their cellphones. She had informed him that she was 24 years old and not a child. He had laughed and walked away. She supposed this meeting was going slightly better than that. . . slightly.

“Agent Johnson is more than qualified to be your partner in this mission,” Luke said. “I suggest the two of you start crafting a backstory. And you should definitely work on your chemistry. People need to believe that you are actually married. The house is going to be ready to move into in  _ two weeks _ .” Luke directed his gaze to Ben.

Ben and Rey stared at each other silently.

“This is going to be a disaster.” Ben huffed before turning out of Skywalker’s office.

Luke shrugged and shot Rey an apologetic smile. She turned and followed Ben Solo down the hallway.

_ No big deal. I can totally handle this. No big deal. _

___

_ Bayside, Maryland _

_ April 1 _

Rey followed Ben into the kitchen, closing the garage door behind her. 

“Look Solo, I know we didn’t get off on the right foot when we first met but I deserve to be here. I graduated at the top of my class. I’ve been working at the FBI for almost two years now. Because of me, there are criminals behind bars.”   
  


Ben turned to her with a sneer, “There is a difference between apprehending criminals from the safety of the office while getting to hide behind a computer than doing what I do. I spent two years in Afghanistan getting shot at. I’ve put serial killers away. Have you ever even fired your gun at an actual person or just the paper targets from the Academy?”

Rey didn’t answer.

“I thought so.” Ben turned and walked up the stairs toward the master bedroom. “You do realize how dangerous this is, right? Those missing women - they are probably dead. If we are dealing with a serial killer, he’s probably just getting started. I can’t be spending my days looking after you.”

“I can take care of myself,” Rey spat out, “I don’t need to be coddled. I can handle _ anything _ .”

Ben shot her a withering look and began to peel off his sweatshirt, revealing a form fitting white T-shirt underneath. He threw the sweatshirt on the bed.

The bed.

_ Oh Sweet Jesus. There was only one bed. _

“So… you are going to sleep on the couch, right?” Rey stammered avoiding Ben’s eyes.

“Fuck no, Princess. I’m sleeping in the bed. I thought you said you could handle anything?” Ben flopped on the bed and raised his eyebrows at Rey.

_ No big deal. I can totally handle this. No big deal. _

“What’s the matter, Wifey?” Ben said as he patted the space on the mattress next to him. “Nervous for our first night together as a married couple?”

“You wish, Solo.” Rey muttered as she went into the master bathroom to get ready for bed. 

_ This was going to be a disaster. _


	2. Getting to Know You BBQ

_ Bayside, Maryland _

_ April 2 _

Rey awoke to the sound of heavy breathing. For a few seconds she lay in bed with her eyes closed trying to piece together events of the previous night. _ Fake marriage. Fake house. Ben Solo. ONE BED. Ugh _ . Rey pulled the sheet up to her chin.

The heavy breathing continued. It was the sort of breathing that a person made if he was exerting himself, not when sleeping.  _ Why is he breathing so heavy? What is he doing? _ Ben let out a groan. _ Please GOD don’t let him be masturbating! _ Rey slowly (very very very slowly) opened her eyes and looked to her left. The space in the bed next to her was empty.  _ What? Where is he? _

Rey sat up straight in bed, with the sheet still clutched to her chin. She caught sight of a shirtless Ben Solo doing push ups next to the bed. 

“Morning, Princess.” He puffed out, “Gimme a minute I’m almost at 500.” He silently did several more push ups then stood up next to the bed. 

_ Oh Holy Jesus. He has an 8 pack. He looks like a Greek marble statue, perfectly sculpted. _

“Do you have a shirt or something you can put on?” Rey asked, trying to find somewhere else to focus her gaze. She was  _ not _ looking at his crotch.

Ben ignored her, “The carefully constructed pillow barrier you made between us last night was cute.” He paused to brush his hair off his forehead. “It didn’t work. You were reaching over it and stealing my covers in the middle of the night.”

“I absolutely was NOT reaching for you or your covers in the middle of the night.” Rey protested. 

“Between you stealing my covers, and your snoring, I hardly got any quality sleep.” Ben accused. He turned and walked into the master bathroom, closing the door behind him. She could hear the sound of the sink running.

Rey stood up from the bed, fully cocooning herself in the sheet. She hobbled over to the master bathroom door and yelled through it, “I do not snore!”

Ben whipped the door open and pulled his toothbrush out of his mouth. “YES, you do!” He garbled with his mouth full of toothpaste. He jammed his toothbrush back into his mouth and started brushing vigorously. He maintained eye contact with his eyebrows slightly raised, as if daring her to continue the argument. When Rey said nothing, he turned back into the bathroom and closed the door again.

When he emerged from the bathroom several minutes later he said, “I’m going for a run.  Be back in a bit.”

Rey dropped her sheet-cocoon and headed into the bathroom. She noticed what looked like six different hair products lined up on the counter and a giant bottle of body wash in the shower. 

_ And he calls ME Princess _ ? Rey picked up the body wash, innocently wondering what Ben Solo smelled like. She opened the cap, closed her eyes and inhaled. Pine trees … and a hint of... citrus … and some kind of spice? It made Rey think about cold winter nights cuddled in front of a fireplace. Logs crackling. Fuzzy socks. Flannel pajamas. She could picture herself holding a mug of hot cider, sitting on the lap of - NOPE. Not going there. She closed the cap and shook her head as if it were possible to erase thoughts from her brain like an Etch-A-Sketch.

Rey sighed and looked at herself in the mirror, “Get it together, Agent Johnson.”

\---

An hour later Rey was down in the kitchen putting the final touches on some omelettes when she heard the front door open. 

“Honey, I’m hoooome!” Ben called as he walked into the kitchen. 

“Were you running for a whole hour?” Rey asked.

“No. I helped one of the neighbors look for his cat, Millicent. You made me breakfast? Usually ladies who spend the night with me run out before breakfast.” He eyed the omelettes with a grin.

“Yes, I made yours with egg whites only. I figured you would be the kind of person who doesn’t eat the yellow part of the egg, which in my opinion, is the BEST part of the egg.” Rey pushed a plate in Ben’s direction. “It also has spinach, onion and cheese.” 

They stood around the kitchen island silently eating for a few minutes. They both ate at roughly the same speed, as if they were both starving.

“Did you find the cat?” Rey asked as she sipped from her coffee mug.

“Yeah. It was this douche bag named Hux’s cat. He’s the VP of the Homeowner’s association apparently. Oh, we got invited to a barbecue tomorrow night,” He reached into the pocket of his running shorts and pulled out a piece of bright orange paper.

Rey read, “Getting to Know You BBQ! Several new families have moved into our community in the past few months and we would like to celebrate and welcome everyone to the community. Beer, BBQ, Friends & Fun. Friday at 6:00 PM at the community park. Please contact Amilyn Holdo if you would like to bring a dish!” Rey shrugged, “Well, it’s probably the fastest way for us to start getting a feel for people in the neighborhood. We should start planning our strategy.”

Ben nodded and shoved the last bite of omelette into his mouth. “Good idea, but I’m going to need another one of these first,” he pointed to his empty plate.

Rey smiled, “No problem, Partner.”

\---

They had decided that their BBQ Strategy was going to be “Divide & Conquer.” Rey was going to make nice with all the girls and Ben was going to bond with the guys.

Rey started out the afternoon by calling Amilyn Holdo to volunteer to bring a dish to the BBQ. Rey had ended up being on the phone with Amilyn for almost an hour getting the hot gossip of the neighborhood. She found out that Amilyn was the HOA secretary and on the party planning committee. Amilyn hated someone named Poe Dameron, who apparently lived next door to Ben and Rey. Their dispute had something to do with his dog Bee Bee. Also Poe apparently had issues with listening to or respecting women? She heard about Rose and Finn, another young couple who were also new to the neighborhood. She learned that someone nicknamed Snap was a pilot and instructor at the nearby Naval Academy. Luckily for Rey, Amilyn was an oversharer. She should be easy to befriend and get information out of. After listening to Amilyn chat for a while, Rey mentioned that she was a chef and was suddenly volunteered to bring two side dishes to the party tomorrow evening.

Rey spent the rest of her afternoon making potato salad and coleslaw. At least the FBI had stocked the refrigerator and pantry fairly well for them before they moved in. Rey wondered how it was that the FBI had seen fit to buy her the latest model of the KitchenAid stand mixer but couldn’t bother to get two beds for the house. 

Ben and Rey had spent most of the day ignoring each other. While she was cooking for the party, he had taken over the empty spare bedroom to set up his office. He had already taped up a hand drawn map of the neighborhood, pictures of the missing girls and a list of his possible suspects - which consisted of pretty much all the residents of Baker Street. 

Rey made chicken caesar salads for dinner and they ate silently in front of the TV watching old episodes of Frasier for several hours. At some point they started arguing about which episode was the best.

“It has got to be the one where they buy the restaurant and everything goes wrong.” Rey said. “Or the one where they try to do an old time radio show and everything goes wrong.”

“No, it’s definitely the one where they try to throw a dinner party at the beach house but there is a dead seal on the beach that they have to get rid of,” Ben said.

Rey laughed, “Yes! I forgot about that one!” Rey picked up her phone and looked at the time. “Yikes it's almost 1 AM! Time for bed, husband.” She stood up and stretched, suppressing a yawn.

“Um, that’s OK. I’ll take the couch tonight,” Ben wouldn’t look at her.

“What? Ben, you don’t have to do that,” Rey said.

“It’s OK. I’ll live. You go ahead and take the bed,” Ben finally looked up at her with a small smile. 

Rey nodded and headed up the stairs alone. She couldn’t help feeling a little bit disappointed. 

\---

_ April 3 _

The next evening, Rey stood in front of the mirror in the master bathroom staring at herself in a red halter top maxi dress. She spun around a few times and considered possible hairstyles for the BBQ. She opted for her usual 3 bun updo. She applied a little makeup and headed downstairs. 

Ben stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at her, his expression unreadable.

“You look pretty.” He said quietly, almost whispering. 

Rey didn’t know what to say. She stared at Ben, who also looked pretty. He was wearing khakis that clung to his muscular thighs quite snugly, and a button down red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She briefly thought back to her fireside fantasy and felt herself blushing. 

“Oh. Here, this is for tonight.” He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box.

Rey took the box and looked at him with a quizzical expression.

“I figured we need these since we are supposed to be married.” Ben supplied.

Rey opened the box to reveal a stunning set of rings. The engagement ring was a large cushion cut diamond that had small diamonds inlaid down the sides of the band. There was a matching wedding band also inlaid with small diamonds and a plain man’s ring.

“Did the FBI lend us these?” Rey asked, “They are absolutely gorgeous.” She slipped both rings on her finger and handed Ben his ring.

“No, not exactly. Don’t worry about it. Do they fit?” He stammered. 

“Perfectly,” Rey said as she held her hand up to admire the rings. “You think the FBI will let me keep them when we are done?” She joked.

Ben didn’t answer.

\---

The community of Bayside was a gated community that consisted of just Baker Street, which was a “U” shaped street with a large wooded community park and pond in the middle of the community. The park was accessible to all residents with just a short walk. 

Ben and Rey strolled toward the park, each carrying a bowl of Rey’s side dishes. As they approached the park they could tell that it was already crowded. They drifted through a crowd of people chatting and kids playing games and headed toward the food tables and put the sides down in an empty spot.

A man about Rey’s age was flipping burgers on a nearby grill. He waved his spatula and called over to them, “You must be the new neighbors. I’m Finn! Come on over and pick a burger.”

Rey grabbed a paper plate, selected a burger and began to devour it. Rey liked Finn instantly. There was something about the warmness of his smile that spoke to her. And, of course, any man who could cook a decent burger was worth keeping around. 

Finn, as it turns out, was also new to the neighborhood. He and his fiance Rose had moved in two months ago. Finn was a former Olympic track star who now ran marathons. He had informed Rey and Ben that he was “Kind of a big deal” in the running world. Rose was an art teacher working at the local elementary school. She had a sweet disposition and it was impossible not to like her. As Ben and Finn bonded over a love of fitness and grilled meats, Rey chatted with Rose and Maz about the neighborhood.

“Well, we were a little wary of moving in after hearing about all the missing women.” Rey said. A dark shadow flickered across Roses’ eyes but she didn’t say anything.

  
“Yes, I hope they catch whatever nasty beast took those women.” Maz said. 

Rose quickly steered the conversation to another topic. Rey made a mental note to discuss this with Ben later. 

“Yikes, does that woman have purple hair?” Ben asked nodding over to a striking woman in the middle of the crowd. 

“Oh yes, that’s Amilyn Holdo. She’s in charge of party planning and gossip around here.” Rose said. “I’ve never had a conversation with her that lasted less than twenty minutes. She’s impossible to get away from. Quick, let’s go get some beer!” Rose grabbed Rey’s arm and dragged her away into the crowd. 

They found a cooler filled with drinks and headed in that direction when a small Jack Russell Terrier charged toward them. 

“Bee Bee! Stop!” shouted a male voice. 

“Oh what a sweet dog!” Rey exclaimed as she reached down to pet Bee Bee. His owner ran up next to them.

“I’m sorry about that. He’s kind of a flirt. Not sure where he gets that from. I’m Poe. Poe Dameron,” Rey looked up at Poe Dameron. He was certainly good looking with his dark eyes and curly hair. She could see how women would be attracted to him. Then she remembered Amilyn’s accusation that Poe didn’t respect women. Rose also seemed unimpressed with Poe.

“Hi Poe, I’m Rey Solo. Nice to meet you. I think we are neighbors?” They shook hands and Poe held on to Rey’s a little too long afterward.

“Yes I’m right next door to you…” Despite his good looks, Rey found it difficult to pay attention to Poe as he spoke. She noticed that Maz Kanata had cornered Ben near the food table. He was looking decidedly uncomfortable with whatever Maz was talking to him about. He had one hand clenched into a fist at his side.

“Rey?” Poe put his hand on Rey’s arm. 

“Oh sorry, what were you saying?” Rey looked up at Poe, who was still holding on to her arm. 

“I was just asking if -” Poe broke off and let go of Rey’s arm as Ben approached.

“Hi, I’m Ben, Rey’s _ husband _ ,” he emphasized the word. 

Maz approached Rey and whispered to her, “Ahh, young love. That boy has got it bad for you.” 

Rey smiled shyly at Maz.  _ Of course, Ben wasn’t really being jealous. He was just pretending, right? _

\---

As the evening wore on, Ben and Rey had joined in a friendly game of badminton with Finn and Rose. The friendly game soon turned into a heated neighborhood competition. Rey was terrible at the game. It was really difficult to play in a maxi dress and sandals. Ben, who excelled at all physical activity, was the only reason they weren’t eliminated from the competition in the first round. After four games, Ben and Rey lost to Hux and his friend Mitaka. 

Rey found herself starving again and drifted back toward the food. She eyed the platters, reaching for a few cubes of cheese with her hand instead of the tongs sitting next to the tray.

“You shouldn’t touch that with your bare hands, Rey. Were you raised by wolves?” Ben asked with a frown.

  
Rey shrank away from him with a visible flinch. She felt like she had just been slapped in the face. “No, Ben. I wasn’t raised by wolves. I wasn’t raised by anybody at all. I was an orphan.” 

“Fuck. Rey I’m sorry. I’m such an asshole.” Ben whispered. He reached for her hand and Rey pulled away from him.

“Not now.” She said, “Someone is coming.” Rey plastered a fake smile on her face at the approach of an older gentleman. 

The man was dressed in what Rey considered to be “old man attire.” He was wearing freshly pressed dress pants with a button-down shirt, red bow tie and suspenders. He was also wearing a cap which was poorly disguising a deep jagged scar that ran down the middle of his forehead. Rey started imagining various ways he could have gotten such a scar. None of them were pretty.

“Trouble in paradise? I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” His voice was . . . creepy. Rey didn’t know why exactly. Maybe it was that he talked a little too slow or smoked one too many cigarettes in his youth, either way - creepy.

“Of course not.” Ben said, “I’m Ben Solo and this is my wife, Rey.” He extended his hand to the stranger. 

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Solo. I am Victor Snoke, the President of the Homeowner’s Association. Allow me to officially welcome you to the neighborhood. I trust you are having a good time. Amilyn always outdoes herself with these sorts of things.” 

“Yes we are having a wonderful time.” Rey said. “I was just telling Ben that --” Rey was cut off by the sounds of several children screaming in terror across the park.

Ben and Rey took off in the direction of the screams.

  
There was a woman’s body floating face down in the pond.

“Get these kids away!” Ben barked to some adults standing nearby. Ben handed Rey his cell phone and wallet, dove into the pond and swam out to the body. Rey dialed 911. When Ben reached the body, he gently flipped it over. 

It was one of the missing women - Bazine Netal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite episodes of the X-Files was an episode where Mulder and Scully pretended to be married to investigate a case. I always loved the flirty dynamic between them. That’s what I’m going for in this story and I hope it shows. Thanks for all the comments and kudos. It made me crank out this chapter faster than I was planning. :)


	3. Love letter from a killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you all for kind words and kudos. I’m having a lot of fun with this story. I’m hoping to be able to update every few days but I have two young kids at home and a full time job that I’m doing from home for the foreseeable future, so it’s hard to find mommy free time to write.

_ April 4, 4:00 AM _

_ Office of the Chief Medical Examiner _

_ Baltimore City, Maryland _

After the police finally left the neighborhood, Rey and Ben stopped home to change clothes. Ben discarded his wet clothing in the bathtub and opted for a dark suit. Rey put on her favorite gray pantsuit. They silently drove to Baltimore and met Luke outside of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. 

“It’s been confirmed as Bazine Netal.” Luke said as they walked through the double doors of the building. “The Medical Examiner is about to begin the autopsy.” They walked down several hallways before reaching the morgue.

“Doctor Kalonia, these are Special Agents Ben Solo and Rey Johnson. They are the leads on this investigation,” Luke said.

“Good morning, Doctor. What can you tell us?” Ben addressed the Medical Examiner.

Doctor Kalonia was standing beside a body covered in a sheet. She peeled back the top half of the sheet to reveal the decedent’s upper torso. She pointed around the neck and said, “I haven’t begun the autopsy yet, but my initial thought is that strangulation is the cause of death. See these marks here? They appear to be finger marks. I’ll need to do the autopsy to confirm, but based on the brief look I’ve had so far, I would say she wasn’t in the water that long. An hour or two, maybe, but not longer than that. Also, I noticed something strange above her left ankle.” She pulled the sheet up to reveal a hexagonal shaped patch of skin missing above the ankle.

“The missing person report mentions a tattoo that Bazine had on her left ankle.” Rey supplied. “Her brother said it was a black symbol but he didn’t know what it meant. He was unable to find a clear picture of it.”

“Why would someone cut off a tattoo?” Luke wondered aloud.

“We need to find out what that symbol was. You and I need to meet with her brother.” Ben said turning to Rey.

“I’m ready to get started here. You can stick around and watch if you like. Goggles and gowns are in that cabinet.” Dr. Kalonia gestured across the room. 

“I’m out.” Rey said looking up at Ben.

“I’ll stay.” Ben volunteered. “Why don’t you and Luke go notify her brother and see if he can find us a picture of her tattoo.”   
  
“Good idea. Call me when you are done and we will come back and pick you up.” 

Dr. Kalonia began recording audio on her nearby laptop. “This is Dr. Kalonia, performing the autopsy of Bazine Netal, a 24 year old white female approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 118 pounds. The time is 4:14 AM. I am making a Y incision.”

\---

Several hours later Rey received a phone call from Ben as she and Luke were leaving the home of Bazine’s brother.

“Hey, Ben. You’re on speaker phone. What’s up?” Rey asked. 

“Cause of death is strangulation. There was no water in the lungs so she was dead before she went in the water. Kalonia is putting the time of death at around 5 or 6 PM yesterday. There was some undigested food in her stomach to indicate that she had just eaten. Other than the finger marks around her neck and the missing tattoo, there were no other signs of trauma on her body. No evidence of sexual assault. Kalonia took some scrapings from under her fingernails and is running for DNA matching through the FBI’s database. Toxicology results are going to take at least a week, even with a rush request.”

“OK. We had an interesting chat with Bazine’s brother. He said about a year ago their legal guardian died and left them both a small inheritance. Bazine started acting strangely and he said she was spending way more money than they had each inherited. She moved into a big house by herself in Bayside and cut off communication with him. He suspected she was either engaged in prostitution or involved with a gang. He said she told friends that she was a wedding planner but that was a lie. He was able to find a picture of the tattoo from her Instagram account. It appears to be a starburst or a sun inside a hexagon. Luke sent the picture to our crime lab and the gang task force to see if either could find a match. We are waiting to hear back. Luke’s dropping me off back at the Medical Examiner's Office. I’ll see you in about 15 minutes.”

\---

Ben drove Rey home from Baltimore. He seemed more morose than usual and was gripping the steering wheel with more intensity than driving required.

“Are you OK, Ben? Was the autopsy that bad?” Rey asked with concern.

“No, that was fine. I’ve been to a few autopsies before. It’s about what I said last night. I feel terrible about the ‘raised by wolves’ thing that I said. I never should have said that. Sometimes I say things without thinking.”

“Ben. Don’t worry about it. You didn’t know that I was an orphan. I hardly ever talk about it. I’m sure you were raised by a perfect family.”

Ben laughed, “My family and I have a very strained relationship. My Mother is in politics and my Father is a commercial airline pilot. Growing up neither parent was around very much. I was a lonely kid. I spent a lot of time with my uncle and we barely got along. I haven’t actually seen my parents in a while.”

“Sounds like we were both lonely kids.” Rey said softly.

“You want to grab some lunch? I’m starving,” Ben said. “You like sushi, right? I know this great place in Annapolis near the water.”

“Sounds awesome. I love sushi.”

\---

_ Several Months Ago _

_ FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. _

After her embarrassing incident of crashing face first into Ben Solo’s chest in the parking garage, Rey had laid low and avoided having to see him again. Luckily, her cubicle was located in the lower level, in a quiet section of cubicles across from the computer server rooms. The quiet hum of the servers kept her company. She had a small collection of succulents on her desk that seemed happy to thrive in the cold and fluorescent light of the lower level. 

One morning, as she turned into her cubicle, she saw a new succulent plant in a tiny pink pot sitting on her desk. There was no note. She looked around to see which of her coworkers was in the office.

“Hey Carl?” She called across the row of cubicles, “Is this from you?” She held up the pot.

“Not me. It’s been quiet down here today. The team leaders are in some kind of meeting with the behavior analyst people. They are trying to build a profile for the hacker that keeps taking down the college websites.”

“Hmm.” Rey added the succulent to her collection with a smile. 

Over the next several weeks, Rey would occasionally find little presents waiting for her on her desk in the morning. One day it was an orange. Another day it was a hot cup of coffee from her favorite place down the street. Another day it was a copy of her favorite book. Another day it was sushi rolls from a fancy bar in DC. Rey had no idea who could be leaving her the presents. She sometimes stayed super late or arrived very early to try and catch the person in the act, but they always managed to avoid being seen by her.

Rey had a secret admirer. For the first time in a long time, Rey was excited to get to work to see if she would have something waiting for her that day.

  
Then one day, without warning the gifts stopped.

Rey had a secret heartbreak.

\---

They opted for an outdoor table at Joss Cafe & Sushi Bar. Main Street in the city of Annapolis on a Saturday in good weather was always crowded but Rey enjoyed people watching. They quietly discussed the various suspects as they ate fresh sushi rolls and sipped from Japanese beers outside in the warm sunshine.

“It has to be someone who was at the barbecue last night, right? I mean the body was obviously dumped there shortly before it began. I think that was intentional so it would be found during the party,” Rey speculated.

“I agree. However, most of the community residents were there last night. I think we need to-” Ben stopped and looked up at a man and a large shaggy brown dog who stopped to hover over their table. “Dad?” 

“Kid, you better duck out of here quick. Your mother is on the warpath. Oh shit, too late.” Han Solo turned away, looking for an escape route for himself.

“Han! Why are you walking so fast? I wanted to look in that little shop over there and --” Leia Organa Solo’s eyes landed on her son. Ben looked as if he was trying to melt into his chair and disappear.

“Hello Mother,” he said quietly.

Rey’s eyes widened as she recognized Ben’s mother. “Your mother is _ Senator Organa _ ?” Rey asked, looking at Ben.

For several seconds everyone stared at each other in silence. Then, the large brown dog tried to hop up into Rey’s lap. She laughed and rubbed his ears. 

“Oh my goodness, you are adorable.” Rey laughed.

“Chewie, get down.” Han tugged on the leash but the dog didn’t budge.

Leia caught sight of Rey’s rings and gasped, “Son of a bitch. You got  _ married _ and didn’t tell your mother?” Leia turned to Ben with an angry expression on her face.

“Mom, it’s not what it looks like.” Ben held up his hands and looked like a ten year old being grounded to his room.   
  
“Well, that’s good, because it looks like the two of you are wearing my parent’s wedding rings. And, you two are sitting ridiculously close together and you both have stupid lovesick looks on your faces.” Leia said looking from Ben to Rey. 

“We’re not married. Really. I’m just his partner for an investigation. We are posing undercover as a married couple.” Rey said with a low voice. 

“It’s true,” Ben insisted.

“Nice try kid, not even I buy that one.” Han said.

“Waiter!” Leia called, flagging down one of the staff. “Please bring us two more chairs and some menus. We are joining this table.” Ben and Rey were forced to scoot their chairs much closer together to accommodate Leia and Han.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry,” Ben muttered to Rey.

Over the next two hours, Leia and Han grilled Rey and Ben about their relationship. Despite their insistence that they were not in a real marriage and weren’t even really dating, Leia and Han remained skeptical. Rey did manage to hear several embarrassing stories about Ben’s childhood that she fully intended to use for future blackmail.

At some point Ben placed his hand on Rey’s knee under the table. At first Rey thought it was Chewie trying to solicit some free food. When she realized it was Ben’s hand, her eyes widened and her heart started hammering in her chest. Ben lightly began tracing small circles on Rey’s leg. When she looked at him, he seemed distracted, like he didn’t even know he was doing it. Rey found the act to be very soothing.

At the end of lunch, Ben excused himself and went into the restroom. Leia took that opportunity to pounce on Rey.

“I’ve never seen him so interested in someone before. He stared at you the entire afternoon.” Leia mused with an eyebrow raised. 

“Leave the girl alone, Leia.” Han implored. He turned to Rey apologetically, “She can’t help meddling. It’s a politician thing.” 

When Ben returned to the table, he looked around and cleared his throat. “Well guys, this was . . .  _ fun _ . Let’s not do it again. Rey and I have to be going. Serial killers to catch and all that.” Ben pulled out his wallet and went to pull out his credit card.

Leia waved her hand at him. “This one’s on us. It was a pleasure to meet our new daughter.” Leia said. Ben shot her a withering look.

“Thank you both for lunch. It was lovely to meet you,” Rey said. 

Leia grabbed Rey in a hug and said, “I’m sure we will be seeing you again soon.”

As they were walking away from the restaurant, Rey heard Han say to Leia, “What just happened?” Rey was wondering the same thing.

\---

The drive home was mostly quiet. Rey sat in the passenger seat twisting the rings nervously on her finger. She finally got the courage to say, “I can’t believe you gave me your Grandmother’s rings, Ben! These are priceless family heirlooms. You should really save them for the actual person you want to marry. I would hate for your future wife to find out that your pretend work wife had worn them before her.”

Ben turned to look at her when he stopped the car at the next red light. 

“I can’t stop thinking about you. From that day you walked into me in the parking garage last year. Every day. It  _ is _ you. Always you. I know we haven’t worked together long and we really don’t know each other but I want to. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Ben’s confession stunned her. Rey gasped and her eyes filled with tears, “Ben, I -” She was interrupted by the honking of an impatient driver in the car behind them. The traffic light had turned green. 

Ben jumped and returned his focus to driving. Rey reached her hand over to grab Ben’s knee, the way he had touched her at the sushi restaurant. She saw him smile.

When they finally got back to the neighborhood, Ben parked the car in the driveway and turned to Rey again. “Look, I don’t want what I said to ruin the good working relationship-” He was cut off mid sentence when Rey catapulted across the seat into Ben’s lap and kissed him, her fingers running through his hair. 

She broke off the kiss and cupped his chin in her hand. “Shut up and kiss me, Solo.” Ben was more than happy to oblige her.

Hands and mouths were everywhere. Their pent up tensions from the past few days were finally spilling over. They were brought back to reality when Rey leaned against the steering wheel and the car horn sounded, causing them both to jump.

“Inside,” Ben murmured into her hair, “Don’t want to give the neighbors a show.” They climbed out of the car, giggling like teenagers. Ben fumbled with his keys on the front steps while Rey was pulling off Ben’s necktie.

  
They stepped into the entryway. “Take me upstairs.” Rey said, breathless and urgent. As she stood on her toes to kiss Ben again, she began to peel his jacket off and he was unfastening the buttons on her blouse.

“Well, I’ll admit that I did not see that coming.” Luke Skywalker mused from their living room couch.

Rey shrieked and they jumped apart with guilty looks.

“Director Skywalker! What are you doing here?” Rey tried not to sound hysterical, but having your boss catch you disrobing a coworker when you were supposed to be catching a murderer was very unnerving. She turned slightly out of Luke’s sight line to button her blouse.

“We received a letter this afternoon from our killer.” Luke held up a clear plastic bag with a cream colored piece of stationary inside. It was covered in red calligraphy. “We are waiting for confirmation but we believe it is written in blood, possibly Ms. Netal’s. It’s addressed to you, Ben.”

Ben and Rey stepped forward to read the letter. 

**Kylo Ren,**

**I hope you enjoyed the little gift I left for you in the pond. More to come. The First Order looks forward to working with you again.**

**The Supreme Leader**

“I don’t understand. I thought you said the letter was addressed to Ben? Who is Kylo Ren? What is the First Order?” Rey asked, looking from Ben to Luke.

“Do you want to tell her kid, or should I?” Luke asked.

“Fuck.” Ben said.


	4. Let the past die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started another story about Egyptologist Ben Solo/Thief Rey/curse of the mummy sort of thing. Check it out. It’s Called Valley of the Dead.  
> And now, let’s learn a little bit about Kylo Ren, shall we? ;)  
> Trigger warning for gun violence in this chapter.  
> Also, I intentionally switch between calling him Ben or Kylo depending on the situation.

Afghanistan, 2005

The elite band of Marines known as The Knights of Ren stalked through the desert under the cover of darkness. This fearless group of eight men, whose identities were kept secret under code names, were used for operations that the military wanted to keep off the official record. When the men were recruited for the group, it was made clear to them that if they were to be captured or killed, the government would deny knowledge of their activities. There would be no hostage negotiations for their return. There would be no body recovery attempts. They were to rely only on each other. The men chosen were all single men with exceptional skills - snipers, hackers, linguists, strategists. They were, of course, given significant financial incentive to agree to join the group.

Ben Solo, known only to the others as Kylo Ren, was the leader of the group. The group had thrived under Kylo’s leadership for almost two years. They had successfully completed every mission, whether it was intel recovery, rescue operations or some other task with questionable morality like an assassination. They had killed before, in fact, they had killed quite often. The moral issues never bothered Kylo Ren, this was a war. He could sleep well at night, thank you very much, as long as the objective was for the greater good. 

On this particular night, the group had been sent to a small village to find, interrogate and bring back a target known as The Shadow. The Shadow, according to their briefing, had somehow been collecting intelligence and been passing that information on to the Insurgents. The week prior, twenty American soldiers had been killed in a bombing. It had been the deadliest day of fighting in months. The Shadow was believed to have been behind it. The military wanted to know how he was getting his information and what the plans were for the next attack. 

Recon earlier in the week had led them to a small house on the outskirts of the village. As the small band of men broke through the front door, guns drawn, they came face to face with the sole occupant of the home. A blonde haired, blue eyed woman.

“Welcome, gentlemen.” She said with a Russian accent.

“Are you The Shadow?” Kylo Ren asked quietly. A small smile crept across her face but she didn’t answer. “Answer me.” He said, again quietly. Kylo had found that violence and loudness didn’t always achieve the desired result. He instead preferred to start from a place of eerie calm. 

She again remained silent. Kylo could sense the rising tensions in his men. He could see the subtle shifts in their posture, the way they held their guns tighter. Kylo Ren lowered his own weapon and took a step toward The Shadow. He motioned for his team to lower their weapons.

“You know I can take what I want.” Kylo said, again with a calm voice.

“Yes. Eight of you, one of me. Terrifying.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. She was standing with her back to the wall, almost casually leaning against it. “Not that I’ll tell you, but what do you want to know?”

“Tell me about your informant.” Kylo demanded.

“There’s always some sad little soldier boy who wants to whisper secrets into the ear of a pretty girl in exchange for --” a shot rang out next to Kylo’s ear. He was temporarily deafened. He felt the blood of The Shadow splatter across his face. He watched her lifeless body slide down the wall, leaving a trail of blood and brain matter behind.

Korin Ren, the most volatile of the group, had heard enough. He had pulled out his side arm and shot The Shadow between the eyes. 

“What the FUCK, Korin?” screamed Vantis Ren. Vantis was the youngest of the group. He was a computer hacker who was the most uncomfortable with the questionably moral things that they had been asked to do. “You just shot a woman!”

Kylo felt the rage begin to boil inside of him. His anger felt like a living thing seeking to claw its way out of his body. He turned and stalked over to Korin, wrapping one hand around his throat.

“You have endangered us all and cost us vital information,” he hissed. 

“That bitch is responsible for some of my friends being killed last week. We lost good soldiers. She can’t cause any more trouble now that she’s dead.” Korin spat out.

“You are a Knight of Ren. You do not have friends. You do not have your own agenda. You follow ME!” Kylo thundered, squeezing his hand a little harder.    
  


Shots rang out outside the house, causing Kylo to release his disobedient Knight. “Out the back, MOVE!” Kylo shouted to his men. Kylo made sure all the Knights went out before him. As he turned to leave he noticed a scrap piece of paper clutched in The Shadow’s hand. He bent down to retrieve it and tucked it inside his vest before diving out the back door. 

As he stepped out into the night, he felt pain explode in his left side. He dropped to his knees clutching at his side. His hand came back red. Kylo Ren’s last thought as he lost consciousness was of his mother.

\---

Ben Solo awakened, oddly enough, to see the face of his mother hovering over him.

“Oh God,” he rasped, throat dry from disuse, “I’ve died. I’m in Hell.” He tried to sit up and a wave of pain forced him to lay back.

“Ben, don’t move. You are in Walter Reed Medical Center. You were shot. You’ve been out for a few days. Let me find the doctor.”

When Leia returned a few minutes later, Ben found out that he had been shot almost a week ago. He had been air evacuated to a European Military hospital for surgery, then sent back to the States for recovery. The bullet had missed his renal artery by millimeters. The doctors were able to save his kidney but were unsure if it would be totally functional. He was lucky to be alive, they told him. He didn’t feel lucky. The doctor told him he could be discharged later in the week after they had a chance to review his lab work and kidney function.

Two days later, as he was waiting to be discharged, Ben was visited by a Marine Corps General. He sat up as straight as his bandages would allow and saluted.

“At ease,” the General said. “I’m here to inform you that, effective immediately, you are hereby honorably discharged from service in the United States Marine Corps. In addition, you are awarded The Purple Heart for your sacrifice. On behalf of this country, I would like to extend our thanks for your bravery and service. Enjoy civilian life.”

Ben Solo was not expecting this, “What happened to my unit? Were the Knights injured?”

The General’s expression was unreadable, “Knights?”

“The Knights of Ren.”

“No such unit exists in the U.S. Military,” the General said as he stood up and left. 

Ben was left alone with his thoughts. He closed his eyes and pictured The Sparrow's lifeless body sliding down the wall. The scrap of paper. Stepping out into the dark. The pain in his left side. The blood.

The scrap of paper! He had almost forgotten. He pushed the call button next to his bed. Impatient, he screamed down the hallway, “Nurse! Nurse!”

A nurse appeared a few seconds later.

“Did the military send any of my belongings with me? The things I was wearing when I was shot?”

The nurse turned to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a clear plastic bag. “If it’s not in this bag, then it didn’t come with you.”

Ben snatched the bag and began digging through it. At the bottom of the bag he saw it, a small white piece of paper crumbled and stained with a little of his blood. He reached in and pulled out the paper. His heart was racing. He unfolded the paper and stared at it.

Blank.

It was blank.

Was this some kind of joke?

He felt the rage inside of him again. The beast asking to be released.

The whole mission had been for nothing. They had learned nothing. He had been shot, for nothing. This blank fucking piece of paper told him nothing. His career was now over, for nothing.

Ben sat and stared at the paper for a long time.

\---

2007

Annapolis, Maryland

Ben Solo had returned to civilian life with a chip on his shoulder and a small scar on his left side. It had been almost two years since being shot in Afghanistan. In those two years, his external scars faded but the wound on his soul remained a festering, bleeding thing. He grew bitter and angry. He grew to despise the government he had served. He felt used and discarded. He withdrew from his family. He had no friends.

Like many former soldiers returning to civilian life, he found himself unable to blend in. Ben Solo did not know how to be Ben Solo anymore, he only knew how to be Kylo Ren.

Kylo Ren found himself online frequently, up late at night. One night he fell down a rabbit hole after reading about an organization known as The First Order on Reddit. He found himself Googling “What is The First Order.” He read for hours about the mysterious anti-government military organization run by “The Supreme Leader” and his number two “The General.” The group sought out former disaffected military personnel for its ranks. Their ultimate purpose was unclear but seemed to be to cause chaos in the government. Kylo Ren fell asleep while reading at his computer desk, with his face on the keyboard.

He was awakened at 3:00 AM by a text message from an unknown number.

Unknown

Thank you for your interest in The First Order.

Ben Solo

Who is this?

Unknown

A friend.

Ben Solo

I don’t need any friends.

Unknown

49 West Street, Annapolis. 9AM. 

A few hours later, Kylo Ren found himself at the Coffee House in Annapolis known as 49 West. He arrived 15 minutes early and stood across the street watching people come and go. He didn’t see anyone he recognized. At 9:00 AM exactly, he walked inside and wandered up to the counter to order himself a coffee. As he was about to order, a voice called, “Kylo.” The barista at the pick up line set a cup of coffee on the counter. Kylo walked over to pick it up. Under the coffee cup was a red envelope. He grabbed the coffee and the envelope and took a seat in the back, away from the crowd. Inside was a cream colored piece of stationary with elegant writing.

**Kylo Ren,**

**Do you lay awake at night and think about all of the things going wrong in our country? When you close your eyes do you see the faces of the people our government paid you to kill? How often have you felt undervalued, disrespected, used and abused by your own government?**

**We know who you are. We know what you have done. We know how the government has discarded you.**

**In our organization, all are respected. None are forgotten.**

**We can remake this country, with your help.**

**The Supreme Leader**

An address was scrawled on the back of the letter. He pulled out his cell phone and Googled it. A warehouse in Sparrows Point, outside of Baltimore. He stood up and walked to his car. Kylo Ren was excited about the future.

\---

For about a year, Kylo Ren worked for The First Order. Having never met the Supreme Leader or the General in person, Kylo would receive his orders from anonymous text messages. He had been tasked for the last few months to follow and report back on the activities of several US Senators. Kylo Ren did not know what The First Order was planning, and he wasn’t that concerned. Being paid to spy on people seemed like a pretty safe job for him. This was well within his skill set.

It wasn’t until the end of June 2008 that Kylo began to question the motives of his new employer. The text message from the anonymous number sent a chill down his spine.

Unknown.

Eliminate all occupants at the warehouse.

Kylo drove to the warehouse in Sparrows Point. The parking lot outside the warehouse was empty, but as he approached the entrance, gun in hand, he heard several voices inside. He walked through the door and began firing indiscriminately at anything that moved. Four men were killed. He pointed his gun at the last person - a blonde haired woman. He flashed back to Afghanistan and the face of The Sparrow as her lifeless body slid down the wall. Kylo Ren found himself unable to pull the trigger. He stood frozen with his gun raised at the woman. He glanced around the warehouse. On the tables were bombs in various states of assembly. His blood ran cold in his veins.

“You. What are they planning?” Kylo demanded.

“Something for DC on July 4th. I don’t know the details. I’m just a supply runner,” the woman said, her voice trembling in fear. “Please don’t kill me. I have a child.”

  
  
“Go. Don’t come back.” Kylo stood surveying the scene.There were enough explosives in the warehouse to level half of DC.

It was the same thing all over again. Senseless death. Once again he was being used to do someone else’s dirty work. Ben Solo realized that it was time to bury Kylo Ren. He couldn’t keep repeating the same mistakes. There had to be a path forward for Ben Solo. There had to be a way he could stop this from happening.

Ben Solo found himself, a broken man, standing on his uncle’s doorstep asking for help.

In exchange for immunity, Ben turned over all the information he had on The First Order and the planned bombing. Raids were made that night by the FBI at the warehouse. It was empty. The bodies, the bombs, The Supreme Leader, the General, the entire First Order operation had disappeared as if it never existed.

The night of the FBI raid, Ben Solo received a text message.

Unknown

We will always be watching you. We will never forget this betrayal.

\---

Sometime later, Ben Solo graduated from the FBI Academy at the top of his class. He began working the Behavioral Analysis Unit and spent his FBI career trying to make up for his sins. He continually searched for signs of The First Order or the Supreme Leader but they had vanished.

Over the next ten years, no matter what he did, no matter how many killers he put away, Ben Solo was haunted by his past. The specter of Kylo Ren was always one step behind him. He purposely pushed people away. He was lonely and afraid.

Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. It’s the only way to become what you were meant to be. It Became Ben Solo’s mantra. Over and over and over in his head. Let the past die. Let the past die. Let the past die. LETTHEPASTDIE. Let it die. Let. It. Die.

He almost believed it could.

  
  
  
  



	5. Spider's web

Rey sat on the living room couch in stunned silence as Ben told her about his past as the leader of The Knights of Ren and then his involvement in The First Order. When he finished, she stood up and said, “Wow. That was . . . I need a minute.” Rey walked up the stairs leaving Ben and Luke in the living room. She closed herself in the master bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub. She felt so confused. _ Who is Ben Solo?  _

She thought back to his confession in the car.  _ God, was any of that real? _ She felt shame wash over her.  _ I can’t believe I was going to have sex with someone I barely know. What was I thinking? This is a job and I’m not being professional. I can’t believe I was about to jeopardize the mission and my career for a pair of pretty eyes. _

After a few minutes of berating herself, she stood up and went to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. She realized that if she hid in the bathroom any longer they would be suspicious.

She took one last look in the mirror, at her rosy lips that were still slightly swollen from kissing Ben.  _ Stop thinking about that. Be professional. _ She tucked a few stray hairs back into her updo and smoothed her blouse. She took a deep breath and exited the bathroom.

As she reached the top of the stairs, Rey stopped to listen to Luke and Ben’s conversation.

“Well, you got your wish Uncle Luke. She officially hates me now, so you don’t have to worry about me corrupting your precious protege,” Ben muttered darkly. 

“I’m no expert, but based on the way she was trying to peel your clothes off about an hour ago, I don’t think she hates you.” Luke said sardonically. 

“Did you see her face, just now? I was a fool to think that I could ever be anything other than Kylo Ren.” 

“You are not that person anymore, Ben. You’ve changed. Do you remember last year when I caught you leaving those presents on her desk and made you stop? I was sure then that -” Luke cut himself off when he noticed Rey standing at the top of the stairs.

She felt her pulse quicken.  _ That was him? Ben left her the gifts? _ Rey walked into the living room to see Ben sitting in a large armchair with his head down and his fists buried in his hair.

“Ben?” She asked quietly.

He looked up at her with his eyes full of hope.

They were interrupted by Luke’s cellphone. “This is Skywalker,” he said walking into the hallway. After a pause, he said, “Are you sure? Ok, thank you.” Luke walked back into the living room. “The crime lab has confirmed that the letter was written in human blood, a type matching Ms. Netal’s. And we have confirmed her tattoo was a First Order symbol.” Luke looked back and forth between Ben and Rey. “Why don’t you two get some rest. You were both up all night. We can regroup tomorrow morning and come up with a strategy.”

Rey nodded at Luke and followed him into the hallway as he walked to the front door.

“Go easy on him, Agent Johnson. He thinks that he’s a monster, but he’s not.” Luke closed the front door behind him.

Rey turned into the living room but Ben was gone.

\---

The next afternoon, Luke, Rey and Ben stood awkwardly around the kitchen island sipping from mugs of coffee. They all seemed to be in agreeance not to mention the incident that Luke had witnessed the evening prior.

Rey was standing directly across from Ben, which was as far away as she was reasonably able to stand without seeming suspicious. She had spent the night alone in the master bedroom. Ben had slept on the couch again. Rey had lain awake all night berating herself and thinking about Ben/Kylo’s past. 

“At this point, I think we can assume that Ms. Netal was a member of the First Order,” Luke said. “They removed the tattoo to make us think that she was a random abduction. Why did they kill her?”

“From past experience, the First Order disposes of people who outlive their usefulness. We just need to figure out what Ms. Netal did for the First Order and why they no longer needed her around,” Ben said. Rey looked up at Ben and he glanced down, unable to meet her eyes.

“What about the other two women? I think we need to consider the possibility that they are also members of the First Order and that their abductions were staged,” Rey suggested.

“Neither of the other two have any past military connections and, as far as we have been able to discern, they were not connected to each other. Kaydel briefly worked an internship in the government in college, but went on to become a dentist. Paige is a yoga teacher. I’m not sure how useful those skills would be to an organization like the first order. We must be missing something,” Ben said with a frustrated tug at his hair.

They were thinking out loud, tossing out ideas for the better part of an hour. In the end, they were no closer than they had been the day before. They decided to keep up the charade of the married couple and continue to investigate the neighborhood. The First Order seemed to know that the person formerly known as Kylo Ren was living here but for some reason had not blown his cover to the entire neighborhood.

Rey felt a sense of nervousness in continuing forward with the married couple charade. If the First Order knew who they were and why they were here, was there any benefit in continuing on? If they quit, those women would die. If they continued on, those women might still die, but at least they could try and stop whatever it was that the First Order was planning.

She had a feeling like she was caught up in a spider’s web, unable to get out.

\---

For almost two weeks, Ben and Rey continued their investigation with awkward professionalism. They did not discuss their feelings for each other. They did not discuss Ben’s past. Ben continued to sleep on the couch, and sometimes in the spare room he had set up as the office. With a bit of sadness, Rey realized that the witty banter between them had turned into normal polite conversation. She missed the lighthearted way they used to talk to each other.

They continued investigating the people in their neighborhood. The plan had been to go house by house and systematically eliminate people as suspects. Together, they had been able to eliminate more than half the neighborhood as suspects. Despite Ben’s constant insistence that Poe Dameron from next door was “highly suspicious” they were also able to eliminate him as a suspect.

One night, as she was contemplating changing into her pajamas and watching Netflix, Rey noticed Ben walk downstairs in the dark. Curious, she also went downstairs. Rey walked into the dark living room to see Ben crouched under the front window. He was peering out of the blinds with a pair of binoculars, looking across the street.

“What are you doing?” Rey asked as she reached for the light switch.

“No! I’m on a stake out. I don’t want them to see me.” Ben pointed to the house that Finn and Rose lived in.

“You're on a stake out in our living room?” Rey asked skeptically. She crouched down next to Ben to peek out the window.

“Yes. I noticed that they left their house last night after midnight dressed in black and walked somewhere in the neighborhood. If they go out tonight, I am going to follow them.”

About twenty minutes later, Ben and Rey watched as Rose and Finn, dressed all in black, slipped out of their front door and made their way around the back of their house.

“I love it when I’m right,” Ben whispered to Rey. “Let’s go, Princess.”

“Why are you whispering? We are in our house, nobody can hear you.” Rey whispered back.

They walked out their front door and crept across the dark street. As they made their way into the back yard, they could see the Finn and Rose coming out of their shed. Finn was holding a crowbar and wearing a ski mask. 

“Howdy neighbors!” Ben said quietly as he flashed his badge at Finn and Rose. “Where are you going with that crowbar at this hour of the night?” 

“This is not what it looks like,” Finn said nervously looking at Rose.

“You’re in the FBI? Are you investigating the disappearances?” Rose asked, looking at Rey. 

  
Rey nodded and Rose immediately burst into tears.

“My last name is Tico. Paige is my sister,” Rose said tearfully.

“Let’s go inside,” Ben suggested, “The backyard is not the best place for this conversation.” They followed Finn and Rose into their kitchen.

Rose took a deep breath and said, “Our parents died when I was a teenager and my sister practically raised me. We talked every day. Then one day a few months ago she stopped answering my calls. I got worried and went to her house, she had given me a spare key. When I went inside, nothing seemed wrong. It was like she just got up and walked out and never came back. The police didn’t seem to be doing much of anything so Finn and I decided to do something ourselves. We sold our condo and moved in here thinking we might be able to find a clue about what happened to her.”

“We believe that an anti government organization known as the First Order might have taken her, although we don’t know why yet. Did Paige have any ties to the government or the military?” Rey asked.

Rose laughed, “I mean, she was a yoga teacher. Government was not her thing at all. When she was in college, she was a White House intern for about 2 seconds. She ended up mostly getting people coffee and sending faxes. She hated it. She ended up changing her major in college after that.”

“One of the other women - Kaydel - had worked as an aide to a Senator when in college. I remember reading that in her profile,” Rey mused.

“Both women had government ties.” Ben whispered. “So, the question is, were these women abducted so that the First Order could exploit their knowledge of government facilities or did they willingly join the First Order?”

“No,” Rose declared, “There is no way - NO WAY - my sister would willingly join those people. She wasn’t a saint, but she wasn’t some anti-government nut.”

“Where were you two going, just now?” Ben asked.

“We have been observing people in the neighborhood for weeks now trying to eliminate suspects. Tonight we were going to follow Hux. He was behaving very strangely to Rose at the barbeque. We considered breaking into his house,” Finn admitted pointing to the crowbar that now sat on the kitchen table.

“I think he might know who I am.” Rose admitted.

“Hux?” Ben asked. “That douchebag from the Homeowner’s Association? I find it hard to believe he could be a part of the First Order.” He looked at Rey who shrugged.

“Either way, we need to check him off our list.” Rey said

“You two, stay home. No more investigating. Leave that to us. And obviously, you are not to tell anyone else that we are FBI Agents.” Ben ordered.

After they were sure that Finn and Rose were staying home, Ben and Rey continued down the street to Hux’s house. For several hours they sat hiding in the bushes behind his house. The lights were out and there were no signs that anyone was inside. The only movement they saw was his cat Millicent running across the street heading toward the park. 

Sometime after 3 AM, as they had just abandoned their mission for the night and made their way back into their own home, Ben’s cell phone rang.

Unknown caller.

“Hello?” Ben asked. He put his phone on speaker so that Rey could listen.

“Hello, Kylo Ren.” The voice was distorted as if the caller was using some kind of computer program to disguise his voice.

“Who is this?” Ben asked, his voice was quiet but edged in sharpness.

The caller ignored Ben’s question. “I told you I would always be watching. I must say, your pretty little partner is most intriguing.” Rey shivered. 

“Leave her alone,” Ben growled. Then, “Where are the missing women? They are dead, aren’t they?”

The caller again ignored Ben’s question, “Young Rey … she would be quite an addition to our organization.” Rey opened her mouth to speak but Ben shook his head and held a finger up to her lips, silencing her.

Ben asked, “What is the First Order planning?”

A chuckle from the other end of the line, “Something . . . explosive.”

The call disconnected.

Rey looked up at Ben with a questioning look. “I wonder what he means?”

Suddenly the shockwave from an explosion rocked the foundation of their house. The living room window shattered sending a spray of glass shards into the house. Ben pushed Rey to the ground and covered her with his body, shielding her from shrapnel. 

“Rey! Are you OK?” Ben asked as he moved his weight off of her. He gently cupped her face in his hands. “You’re bleeding!” He frantically wiped at blood on her cheek unable to find a wound.

“No Ben, you’re bleeding!” Rey cried reaching up to his eye. A large gash ran down his face from the eye and across his cheek. Blood was running down his face and dripping onto Rey.

“It’s nothing,” he said dismissively. He pulled Rey into a sitting position, his arms protectively wrapped around her. They looked out through what was, until recently, the front window. In the driveway just outside, Ben’s car was engulfed in flames. 

As Rey watched the flames reduce the car to a burnt out shell, she again had that feeling of being trapped in a spider’s web. There was no escape. The spider was advancing toward them. They were running out of time.


	6. Unraveled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took an embarrassingly long time to write because I’ve never actually written smut before so I kept deleting, re-writing, blushing, getting interrupted by my kids, re-writing etc etc. I hope you like it.

The sunrise was slowly shading the sky a rosy pink as Ben and Rey were checking into a room at the nearby Sea Cliff Inn. The explosion of Ben’s car had damaged the front window of their home, but the actual house had been spared from major damage. Ben’s car, however, was a total loss. After the fire department, the FBI and the EMS personnel had finally cleared away, they decided not to spend the night in the house until the window could be fixed and the structural integrity of the wall could be assessed.

The front desk clerk eyed the disheveled pair. Rey could only imagine how they must look. She self consciously reached up to smooth her hair and tuck it behind her ears. “All we have available is the Honeymoon Suite,” the clerk said.

Ben and Rey glanced at each other and said in unison, “That’s fine.”

The clerk slid the key across the counter. “If you want breakfast, we start serving it in twenty minutes in the lobby or you can do room service.”

“Thank you,” Rey said quietly, grabbing the keycard and handing it to Ben.

As they stood in the elevator, Rey snuck a sideways glance at Ben. The glass shard had come dangerously close to his eye. He was damn lucky. The EMT had used a liquid stitch to seal the gash on his brow and cheek but Rey suspected he was going to have a nasty scar. He had, in typical male fashion, refused to go to the hospital. Because Ben had used his body to shield her, Rey had managed to avoid any injury at all.

Ben slid the key into the lock and then turned to her with a wolfish grin. “Should I carry you over the threshold, Wifey?”

“Fuck you,” Rey said, rolling her eyes and stepping into the Honeymoon Suite. 

“I’m a little hungry and tired, but I could probably manage later.”. Ben stepped into the room and surveyed it. He stepped into the bathroom. “Sweet, we have a hot tub in here!” 

Rey peeked into the bathroom and observed a heart shaped hot tub. It reminded her of something that would be in one of those couples resorts in the Poconos. “I don’t have my swimsuit.” 

“I don’t think you need one,” Ben said with a wink and a shrug.

Rey flopped into the middle of the king sized bed and reached for the menu that was on the bedside table. “I’m ordering room service. What do you want?”

“Alcohol,” Ben called from the bathroom. “Lots of alcohol.”

About thirty minutes later, room service appeared at the door bearing food and drink. Rey and Ben sat cross legged on the bed digging into their meals. Rey had a Belgian waffle topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Ben had Eggs Benedict. They were splitting a pitcher of mimosas. 

“Mmm,” Rey said, “These mimosas are delicious. Champagne always goes to my head.”

“So you’re saying that if I wanted to take advantage of you, now would be the time?” 

Rey turned to look at Ben. He looked almost hopeful, not at all mocking as she would have expected. They stared at each other silently for a few seconds (or was it hours?). She could stare forever into his chocolatey brown eyes. Or was it whiskey with flecks of honey? She wanted to reach out and touch his face, so she did. She lightly ran her fingers over the stubble on his cheek.

“Rey,” he whispered with quiet desperation as her fingers traveled over his lower lip. He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers.

Rey stood up and took a step away from the bed. She lifted her shirt above her head discarding it in a heap on the floor. Ben’s eyes drifted to the lacy pink push up bra she was wearing. Rey walked off in the direction of the bathroom calling over her shoulder, “I want to check out that hot tub. Are you coming?”

Not needing to be asked twice, Ben jumped up, grabbed the mimosa pitcher and followed after Rey.

Somehow, and Rey’s really not sure how this happened, she ended up sitting naked in the hot tub across from a naked Ben Solo. This really seems like it was his idea. There’s no way she would have suggested something like this, right? She hadn’t had THAT much champagne. Or maybe she hadn’t had enough? She totally intended to keep her underwear and bra on, but he had reminded her that they didn’t have a change of clothes. Being naked would save her the trouble of having to dry out her undergarments. It was sound logic. He had respectfully averted his gaze when she had stripped and climbed in. She really needed more champagne. She was starting to lose her nerve.

As if he had plucked the thought from her head, Ben turned and grabbed for the pitcher of mimosas that was now sitting on the floor next to the hot tub, “Another mimosa?” As he got up to grab it, Rey was gifted with an incredible view of his perfectly sculpted ass. She quickly looked away. When he turned to sit back in the tub she did NOT peek at his absolutely massive . . . oh my _ God _ . 

“I see you pretending not to look.” Ben said as he reached for her empty glass to refill it. He handed a full glass back to her.

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” She took a sip of champagne and avoided eye contact with Ben.

“It’s OK. I’m also pretending not to look at your pretty little tits,” he said smugly. He took a sip from his glass with an eyebrow raised.

Rey looked down and realized that her nipples were hovering just above the water line. She quickly sunk further into the hot tub, her cheeks reddening. She used her free arm to cover both her breasts. 

“It’s too late for that. They are already burned into my memory.” He smirked and took a sip of champagne.

“Stop,” she said.

“Stop what? Stop remembering that just a few days ago you were begging me ‘ _ Take me upstairs _ .’” He said the last part in a high pitched mock feminine whisper.

“First of all,” she said, setting her glass down on the rim of the tub, “my voice doesn’t sound anything like that. Second, that does not sound like something I would ever say.”

“Let me jog your memory.” He grabbed hold of her ankle and dragged her body to his, causing water to splash out of the tub. He wrapped one arm around her waist, crushing her mouth in a searing kiss.

They groped each other with a sense of urgency, arms and legs tangling in the hot tub. Rey threaded his fingers through his hair as he kissed a trail down her neck. Ben guided her legs around his waist and hoisted her up so that his mouth aligned with her breasts. He ran his tongue in slow circles around her nipple before enveloping the bud in his mouth. Rey threw back her head and sighed.

She allowed her hands to explore, first, up and across the solid plane of his chest, then down over his abs, then even lower. He hissed as she wrapped her hand around his cock, her fingers barely able to circle around him. She experimentally pumped slowly several times, then ran her finger over the tip. 

Ben reached his hand under the water and grabbed hers. “If you keep doing that, this isn’t going to last long. What do you say we move this in there,” he nodded his head in the direction of the bedroom.

Rey smiled and nodded. Ben needed no other encouragement. He stood up and carried her bridal style to the bedroom, leaving a trail of water on the floor behind them. 

He gently set her down and stood overtop her staring down at her in all her naked glory. She suddenly felt very exposed and self consciously moved her knees closed. She was shaking. She wasn’t sure if it was from the cool air or from anticipation.

“No,” he rasped, leaning in to part her legs wider. “I want to see all of you.”

She let out a pathetic moan as he began a trail of kisses up her inner thigh. She was desperate for release. After the tension of the past few weeks she felt like her insides were tied up in knots. She needed to be unraveled. She needed to be ravaged. She needed Ben Solo’s mouth on her clit. She needed him now.

“Ben, please,” she whined as his mouth drew closer. He was planting kisses everywhere but where she needed them.

He lifted his head to look up at her, “Tell me what you need.”

“Please, Ben, I need to come!”

As his mouth found her clit, Rey gasped and tilted her pelvis up into his face. It seemed that this was yet another thing that Ben Solo did well. She reached down and fisted her hands in his hair, tugging gently. Encouraged by her reaction, Ben licked and sucked until Rey was in a near frenzied state. He continued his ministrations, sliding a finger into her and slowly pumping it in and out. She could feel her orgasm building.

“Fuck baby, I’m so close. Please don’t stop.”

He added a second finger and pumped faster while sucking on her clit. As her orgasm exploded through her, like electricity rippling through her body, Rey cried out Ben’s name. He crawled up her body and kissed her. 

“Jesus, I can’t feel my face,” Rey gasped, reaching up to touch her cheeks.

“You’re welcome.” Ben said smugly. 

“Shut up,” Rey said as she quickly flipped him so that he was on his back and she was straddling him. She grabbed his length in her hand and guided him to her opening. He inhaled sharply as she slowly slid down, enveloping him completely. As she began to slowly rock her hips, Ben grabbed onto her ass so tightly that she is sure that tomorrow there will be bruises.

“So good,” he groaned, “God you feel so good riding my cock.” Rey grabbed the headboard and increased the pace of her thrusts.

Ben gently rolled them so that he was on top. Her hands found their way again to his perfect soft hair as he licked and kissed a trail down her neck. He pulled himself out then sheathed himself to the hilt with a sharp thrust, causing Rey to cry out. He began a punishing pace of thrusting and reached a finger down to circle Rey’s clit. She felt another orgasm build.

“I’m going to come again!” she cried out, digging her fingernails into his back.

“Good girl. Come on my cock.” His thrusting became more erratic as she rode the wave of another orgasm. With a shudder and a deep guttural cry, Ben emptied inside of Rey and collapsed on top of her.

They stayed that way for a while in silence, Ben’s head resting on Rey’s abdomen, her hands running quietly through his hair massaging his scalp.

Rey wanted to ask Ben about the gifts that he had left but she didn’t know how to start. She felt like they had just turned a corner in their relationship, so maybe he would be honest with her. 

Finally she blurted out, “Why did you do it?”

“I've been thinking about burying my face between your thighs for weeks,” He said, placing a kiss next to her navel.

She blushed. “Well, that’s good to know but that is  _ so _ not what I meant.”

Ben lifted his head, looking at her with a confused expression on his face. She wanted to reach out and smooth the worried wrinkle from his brow. “Do what, then?”

“Why did you leave me the gifts?”

Ben rolled over and stared at the ceiling with a sigh. He ran his hands through his hair. 

“Do you remember that case you were working on with the kid that hacked the college websites? I developed the profile that helped you catch him. I was working the opposite schedule from you but I had noticed you working late one night. Something about you just called out to me. Maybe it was the way you yelled at me in the parking garage? I don’t know. But you seemed a little sad, lonely . . . broken maybe . . . like me. Anyway, Luke caught me one morning and told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to get involved with his new protege. I figured that he was probably right. I ruin every relationship that I am in, romantic or otherwise. At some point, I’m going to disappoint you.”

“I don’t think that will ever happen, Ben.” She turned his head to look into his eyes. 

He gave her a sad smile. “We’ll see.”

Feeling the need to change the topic to something lighter, she asked, “Do you think Luke will know that we . . . ” she drifted off unable to finish her sentence without blushing.

Ben groaned and buried his face in her neck, “Please don’t mention my uncle right now.”

Rey laughed, and closed her eyes, drifting to sleep in Ben’s arms.

\---

“The Uber’s here,” Rey said gesturing to the car that pulled up outside the hotel lobby. They had slept for the entire day yesterday and all of last night. This morning they had awoken to several text messages from Luke Skywalker, wanting to meet them to discuss the operation. They rode back to the neighborhood in silence. As they pulled into the driveway, they were greeted by the sight of a window service finishing up repairs on the front of their home. Luke Skywalker was inside standing in the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee.

“I think we need to strongly consider pulling you kids out,” Luke said.

Ben and Rey both protested loudly at the same time. Luke held up a hand, “Ok, Ok. I will note your objections. I need you both to be on very high alert at all times now. The explosion was just a warning. Next time, one of you could be shot or worse.”

“What did we get from the bomb?” Ben asked leaning against the kitchen island.

“It was a simple pipe bomb, placed into the tailpipe of your car. It was made using parts that anybody could have laying around their home. Not very sophisticated at all.”

Rey thought about the warehouse that Ben had seen years ago full of explosives ready to be used by the First Order. Enough explosives to level half of Washington, Ben had said. She shivered wondering what was next. They had to keep moving, find these monsters before someone else was injured or killed.

“What’s our cover story going to be to explain the explosion? I feel like people in the neighborhood are going to be super suspicious of us now.” Rey said.

  
“I’ve got that covered,” Luke said. “When the cops were here last night we mentioned to a few of your neighbors that it was a simple car fire that spread to the gas tank, causing the explosion. Just tell everyone that there was a manufacturer’s recall notice that you ignored for spontaneous engine fires.”

Ben sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Rey smirked, knowing the idea of ignoring a recall notice was beyond the type A personality that was Ben Solo. “Ok,” he finally said. “But what are we going to do about Hux? If it’s him, we need to be able to watch him without him knowing that we are doing it.”

“I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it,” Rey said looking from Luke to Ben.

“What is it?” Ben asked with a frown.

“Amilyn mentioned to me that the homeowners association board was looking for new members. Maybe if one of us joined the board they could get closer to Hux? He’s the Vice President so I imagine he is involved in all the meetings.” 

“I’ll do it,” Ben said.

“Wait just a minute-” Rey was interrupted by Ben.

“I’ll do it. End of discussion.” Ben said firmly.

Rey looked at Ben for several seconds with her head tilted to the side and her mouth formed into a perfectly round O shape. She wondered what had happened to Ben Solo from just a few hours ago. He was clearly back into Agent Solo serious mode. “What’s the matter, don’t think I could handle it?” 

Luke snorted and walked out of the kitchen shaking his head slowly. “It’s a trap kid, don’t answer,” he whispered to Ben on his way out.

Ben ignored his uncle’s sage advice. “I know you could, but I’m doing it.” 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Ben pulled out his cell phone and started typing.

“What are you doing? It is _ so _ rude to start texting in the middle of a conversation.”

Ben held his phone up to his ear and shushed Rey.

“I know you didn’t just shush me.” Rey crossed her arms over her chest and clenched her jaw.

“Shhh. Hi, is this Amilyn? This is Ben Solo from down the street. Yes, we are both doing fine. It was something with the engine. I got a recall notice about it last year and never got it repaired. Yeah, crazy I know. Listen, I’m calling because I hear the HOA board is looking for new members? Yes. I would love to. Excellent, I will be there next Monday. 7 o’clock? That’s perfect. Thank you, Amilyn.” Ben ended the call and looked at Rey. He gave a subtle shrug of his shoulders, stuffed his phone into his pocket, turned and left the kitchen.

Rey stood fuming by herself. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she could hear Luke chuckling softly from the next room. What was Ben doing? Did he think he was in charge of her now just because they had spent the night together? If Ben Solo thought he was going to get to do all the exciting stuff and leave her behind, he had another thing coming. 


	7. Sink or Swim

Ben stood on Amilyn’s front porch clutching a freshly baked lemon meringue pie in his hands. Rey had insisted that it would be rude to arrive at the meeting without some sort of baked good as an offering to the others. As he rang the bell, he sighed deeply. This was not how he wanted to spend his evening. He wanted to be curled up around Rey in front of a fireplace. 

He had spent his afternoon with Rey in the kitchen baking the pie. She had taught him how to make meringue, which apparently just involved beating the shit out of egg whites and sugar until it made a fluffy gooey substance. He found it fascinating watching her work in the kitchen. She cooked with a confidence that he hadn’t seen in her before. It was . . . erotic? Ben wasn’t sure if that was the right word to use. At some point she had gotten meringue on her face and it took all of his strength not to lean in and lick it off of her… 

Ben shook his head to clear his thoughts. This was not the time to be thinking about such things. He shouldn’t have to keep reminding himself that this was a serious matter involving one or more killers and an anti-government organization. Lives were at stake and he was thinking with his dick again. 

He heard footsteps approach the front door and he plastered the fakest smile he could manage on his face. This was the sort of thing his mother would be good at. Ugh, why was he thinking of his mother?

“Ben!” Amilyn exclaimed, leaning in for a hug. “So glad you could join us. We are really excited about having a new member in the HOA.” 

“Thanks for having me.” Ben handed over his pie and followed Amilyn into the living room. He wondered for the fiftieth time why the woman had purple hair. Hux was already there and a woman he didn’t know.

“Ben, this is Janet,” Amilyn said nodding to a petite redhead. “She is our HOA treasurer who is moving in a few weeks and resigning from her position. We are looking to fill her spot.”   
  


“Well that’s lucky,” Ben said with a smile. “Before I switched majors in college, I was studying finance. I’m pretty good with numbers and even better with money.” 

“Ok Solo, welcome aboard,” Hux said, extending his hand and shaking Ben’s.

“You're just going to let me take over the books without making sure I know what I am doing?” Ben asked incredulously. 

“Bookkeeping is pretty straightforward. You either know what you are doing or you don’t. You either  _ sink or swim _ .” Hux smirked at Ben. Ben thought it was odd the way Hux emphasized the phrase. “Either way, we have an opening so what is the harm in letting you try?”

Ben nodded, “I suppose that makes sense. Send me the account info tomorrow and I will start looking through it.” Ben looked at the others in the room. “Are we waiting for the President, Mr. Snoke?” Ben asked as he accepted a beer from Hux.

“Oh, no.” Amilyn said. “He wasn’t feeling well today so he is skipping out. He emailed me a lengthy agenda to go over. Shall we get started?” Everyone took a seat and Amilyn handed the notes over to Hux to read.

What felt like an eternity later, they had finally wrapped up the HOA business. Ben yawned and looked at his watch, looking for an excuse to get the hell out of there as soon as humanly possible. He’d had about enough of pretending to be friendly and interested in inane things like fence colors and Fourth of July parties. He should have let Rey handle this. She would have probably enjoyed it more than him. So far, all he had learned was that these people were extremely boring and very concerned with everything seeming “normal” and “welcoming.” They hadn’t even discussed the missing women, the body found in the pond or the fire in Ben’s driveway.

“Ready to bolt already, Solo?” Hux teased. “Amilyn has a legendary pool table. I think we should check it out before you leave.”

The small group wandered out of Amilyn’s living room and into a game room at the back of the house. Amilyn’s pool table was exquisite. The wooden legs were large and ornately carved. Save for the felt on top, it looked very old and very expensive.

“It’s a sweet pool table,” Ben remarked to Amilyn, “but I should probably get back to Rey.”

“Oh I’m sure the old ball and chain will be fine for a little while longer. Live a little.” Hux teased.

“Wanna play a game? How about boys versus girls?” Amilyn asked looking at Ben. 

“Are you any good?” Ben asked Hux before sipping from a beer.

“I don’t like to lose, so I hardly ever allow myself to.” Hux remarked.

“Sounds good to me. Ladies first?” Ben handed Amilyn a pool cue.

One game turned into best out of three. The boys had won the first game and the girls won the second. While Hux was contemplating his next move, Ben pulled out his phone to check the time. Just after 8:30. He better wrap this up. Rey was probably worrying about him. He almost felt guilty for having a little fun while he was supposed to be spying on Hux.

As Hux sank the last ball into the pocket, winning the game, Ben received a text message.

Unknown Number

There’s a present for you in the pond.

If you hurry you might be able to save her.

\---

Rey was sitting crossed legged on the bed watching Netflix and eating a bowl of popcorn. She was only half paying attention to the TV as she flipped through a report that Ben’s profile team had put together on all known First Order activities in the past ten years. The report was sparse. The First Order seemed to pop up in various areas, cause a little trouble and disappear as mysteriously as it had appeared. 

The past few days had been relatively quiet, in that nobody had tried to kill them or set any more cars on fire. Ben and Rey fell asleep in each other’s arms almost every night this week. It had been sort of romantic. She hated to admit it, but she enjoyed pretending to be married to him. She wondered what would happen when this was all over and they were going to have to go back to their respective houses. Would they even be working together on any cases after this or would she be going back to her little basement cubicle and her little collection of succulents? Would he want to keep seeing her after this? Were they dating or was this just some work fling?

Rey nervously chewed at her cuticle as she thought about Ben. She was starting to worry. He had been gone for a long time. She had watched almost five whole episodes of The Office. She glanced at her watch. Only 8:30. How long does a Homeowners Association meeting last anyway? What in God’s name is taking so long? As she pondered the possible topics of discussion and various reasons for delay, she received a text message.

Unknown Number

There’s a present for you in the pond.

If you hurry you might be able to save her.

Rey sprang into action grabbing her gun from the nightstand and running downstairs and out the front door. She hadn’t even bothered changing her clothes. She was wearing a pair of flannel sleep shorts, an oversized t-shirt and flip-flops. In her haste, she left her phone sitting on the bed. She bolted down the street in the direction of the pond.

Like in a bad Hollywood movie, a crack of thunder erupted overhead and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Large raindrops began pelting Rey as she reached the edge of the pond, scanning desperately for a body in the water. She slipped several times in the mud, almost falling into the pond. She couldn’t see a body. Where was it? She scrambled a full circle around the muddy pond bank, frantically considering wading out into the water just to be sure there was no body in there.

Fear kept her from entering the water. This was bad. This was very bad. She had no flashlight, no phone … and didn’t know how to swim.

A movement through the bushes on the other side of the pond caught her eye. Rey held up her gun and slid her way through the muddy grass screaming, “Freeze, FBI!” A dark shape jumped out of the bushes behind her tackling Rey into the mud, grabbing for her gun. Rey kicked and fought to keep the gun in her hands but she was face down in the mud. The heavy weight on top of her grabbed her gun and hit her over the back of the head with it, stunning her. Rey was barely conscious as the dark figure dragged her body onto the little wooden fishing pier. She felt herself be hoisted over the railing into the water.

The shock of the cold water jolted Rey. She realized that she was almost at the center of the pond and that her feet could not touch the bottom. Rey felt panic set in as her head dipped below the waterline. She kicked and clawed frantically in the water, trying to stay above the surface. This is it. This is how she is going to die - in a muddy pond that isn’t even that deep. All because she never learned how to swim. All because she tried to be a hero without calling for backup first.

How long can I hold my breath? 30 seconds? A minute? As she dipped down below the surface again she tried to stop herself from breathing in any water. Kick! Fight!

She couldn’t keep her head above the water long enough to call for help. Screaming wastes precious oxygen. Her lungs were burning. Jesus, she was going to die!

  
Why is the water so fucking cold? Rey felt her arms and legs become heavy. She tried to keep thrashing her arms and legs but they were no longer responding to her. She remembered back to a brief swimming lesson from foster care. The ‘dog paddle’ was failing her now. She wondered if Ben would be ashamed of her if she drowned in a shallow pond. She wondered how upset he would be if she died. Would he cry? Would he avenge her death? She couldn’t stop thinking about Ben’s face. His intense eyes. His soft lips. Ben. 

Tired. So tired. So cold.

“Ben!” She sputtered weakly before sinking below the dark surface.


	8. You can't save them all

When Ben was ten years old he spent the summer at a Boy Scout Jamboree that introduced him to a love of nature. He really felt at peace hiking in the forest, breathing the fresh air. He learned to shoot and swim and build a fire from flint and twigs. He learned to rely on himself. He must have earned a dozen merit badges that summer. He finally felt like he was more than an awkward kid with a big nose and bigger ears. He was growing into a man.

One evening, he was sitting by his tent when he noticed a baby bird flopping on the ground under a tree. He gingerly scooped up the baby bird, noting that its wing was broken. He approached Scout Master Kenobi and they constructed a small nest in a cardboard box. Ben dug up a worm that he tried to feed to the baby bird. He attempted to wrap the injured wing in a small makeshift bandage. He spent most of the night staying up, periodically checking on the baby bird before drifting off into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, he rose early and eagerly peered inside the box to see how his baby bird was doing. It was dead.

“It’s OK Ben.” Master Kenobi said as they stood over the small grave that Ben had dug for the bird in the woods. “The world can be a cruel place sometimes. You just have to try your best, but you can’t save them all.” 

“Yes I can!” His ten year old self had shouted, tears streaming down his face.

Ben felt the weight of those words weighing his shoulders down. He heard the phrase in his head many times in his adult life. “You can’t save them all.”

“Yes I can!” Agent Ben Solo screamed as he ran down Baker Street in the driving rain. As he reached the pond he could hear splashing. He kicked off his shoes and dropped his gun and phone at the pond’s edge before diving into the water. He could see a figure sink below the waterline, not returning to the surface. 

Ben took a deep breath and dove below the waterline.

\---

Drowning was at the top of Rey’s ‘Ways I don’t want to die’ list. If it wasn’t number one before, it certainly was now. 

The last time her head dipped below the surface, she had started a count in her head. She figured she had at best about a minute before she would run out of air and be forced to suck in pond water.  _ Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty. Thirty-one. Thirty-two. Thirty-- _

She felt a pair of arms circle around her waist and felt powerful legs kicking them toward the surface. As her head cleared the surface she took in the biggest breath of air she could manage. 

She allowed herself to be dragged to shore, she was barely able to process what was happening. She was frozen solid and delirious. She looked up into the face of her rescuer and managed a weak smile.

“Ben!” she croaked out. She began coughing and gagging. Maybe she had swallowed some of the pond water after all. 

“Rey!” Ben gasped, cupping her face in his hands. “What happened? I don’t understand. How were  _ you _ in the water?” 

“Is he still here?” Rey panicked, trying to sit up. Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her into a sitting position. “He got my gun! He hit the back of my head.” She reached up to touch the back of her head gingerly.

Ben went into high alert mode, he ran over to where he had left his gun at the pond’s edge. Sitting next to his gun, was Rey’s. Whomever had taken it must have set it there as he was rescuing Rey. He grabbed both guns and made a quick circle of the pond, checking around all the shrubbery. They were alone now.

“He’s gone.” 

“How did you know I was here?” Rey asked, trying to stand. Ben grabbed her arm and helped to steady her. She wobbled and almost fell. He scooped her up and held her tightly to his chest. She could feel the heat radiating off of him. She turned her face into his chest and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“I got a text message.” Ben supplied. He started carrying her down the street in the direction of their home. The rain had stopped and Rey was shivering uncontrollably. 

Ben carried her all the way home and up the front stairs. He stopped when he reached the master bathroom. He gently placed Rey on the edge of the tub and turned on the hot water in the shower. She allowed him to peel off her wet clothes and watched as he discarded his. He guided her into the shower and began washing her gently. He treated her like she was a fragile thing that might shatter and any second. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. One of his arms circled her waist and his other hand threaded through her hair. The pair stood quietly clinging to each other in the shower until long after the water turned cold.

At some point they had wrapped up in towels and were sitting on the master bed. Ben had begun braiding Rey’s hair.

“When did you learn how to braid hair? Was that another skill acquired in the military?” she teased.

“My mother.”

“Oh right. Senator Organa and her legendary cinnamon rolls. I forgot.” Ben’s mother had been a career politician. When she began her career she had campaigned on gun control and historically posed for an anti-gun campaign ad with ridiculous cinnamon roll style buns in her hair.The public had never let her forget it. Rey smiled and closed her eyes. Letting someone play with her hair was quite relaxing. It almost made her forget about the events of the evening. Almost. 

“I got a text message too.” Rey finally said in a quiet voice. 

Ben’s fingers stopped braiding. “Telling you to go to the pond?” Ben asked. His voice was strange, as if he was barely able to control his rage.

“It said a present was waiting for me in the pond and that if I hurried I could save her.”

After a long pause Ben resumed the hair braiding. “I got the same message. It was a trap. I could have sworn that it was Hux. He said something to me about sinking or swimming. That smug son of a bitch was baiting me. But, I was with Hux the whole time. He didn’t send any text messages. He didn’t leave the meeting at all.” 

“What do we tell Director Skywalker?” Rey asked. “We should probably tell him what happened.”

“We can’t tell Luke,” Ben said with a firm voice. “If we do, he will pull us out and then the First Order will disappear again. We may never get another chance to stop them.”

“But-”

“No. It’s just us now. Luke can’t help us. We have to figure this out and we don’t have much time left.”

“What do you propose we do Ben? Storm into Hux’s house without a warrant and search his basement for the missing women?”

Ben shrugged. His face looked as if he was considering that as a serious option. 

“I was joking Ben. We can’t do that.”

“I know. I know. I need to think. Maybe if we sleep on it, things will seem clearer in the morning.”

Ben finished braiding Rey’s hair and the pair curled up on the bed drifting off to sleep. Before she fell asleep Rey whispered to Ben, “How did he know that I couldn’t swim? Or that I wouldn’t call for backup before going to the pond?”

“It’s the First Order, Rey. They know everything.”

\---

The next morning, Rey woke up first. As she looked at Ben’s innocent sleeping face, she considered what he had said about keeping Luke in the dark. If they didn’t tell Luke and the First Order got away, it would be a costly mistake. Their careers would be ruined. On the other hand, if they succeeded… 

She was torn about what to do. Trust Ben? Trust her gut? She quietly slipped out of bed and fired off a text to Director Skywalker informing him of the prior evening’s events. 

What Ben didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, right?

\---

Later that morning, after a much needed cup of coffee, Ben happened to be staring out the kitchen window when he caught sight of Amilyn sneaking up the street clutching some kind of file or folder. She kept glancing over her shoulder as if looking to see if someone was following her. She stopped a few houses up and knocked on Hux’s door. Ben couldn’t see Hux, but Amilyn was gesturing to something in the file and yelling at whomever had answered the door. Amilyn thrust the file into that person’s hands and stormed back toward her house. Not wanting to be spotted, he moved away from the kitchen window.

Ben made a mental note to himself to ask Amilyn about it next time he saw her. Or maybe Rey could get Amilyn the gossip queen to spill the details. He thought it was strange. Amilyn and Hux had both seemed perfectly friendly at last night's meeting. He wondered what happened between them in those few short hours.

Unfortunately for Ben, he would never get the chance to find out. Amilyn’s dead body was found around dinner time on her front porch swing. She had been strangled.


	9. Secrets are no fun

Ben and Rey had decided to wait inside the house while the crime scene was being processed by the FBI. They didn’t want to be seen discussing anything with the other agents in case someone was watching them. Ben had been standing at the front window for a while looking out at the street observing who was standing around. His career as a criminal profiler had proven the old adage that criminals like to return to the scene of a crime. Rose and Finn from across the street were standing on their front porch. Rose looked distraught. Several other neighbors were standing outside hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Ben glanced up the street toward Hux’s house. It was dark. Hmm.

Ben sighed and stepped away from the window wondering where Rey had gone. He did a quick circuit of the lower level when he noticed the back door was unlocked. He peeked out the back door window and saw Rey and Luke talking quietly on the back porch. Rey had her cell phone out and was showing something to Luke.

Ben felt like the air was sucked out of his lungs. Was she showing him the text message from last night? She wouldn’t go behind his back like that, right? Hadn’t they agreed not to tell Luke? He felt a tiny spark of anger inside him growing, growing, growing. He clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides. Had he done it again - placed his trust in the wrong person - AGAIN? 

He threw open the back door and Rey squeaked in surprise, trying to hide her phone from Ben’s view. 

“What’s going on out here?” Ben demanded. His jaw was set in a hard line. He was trying very hard to control himself. He was really trying.

“Ben.” Luke said. He was using his Wise Uncle Luke voice. It was supremely irritating. “Were you really going to keep from me that one of my agents almost drowned last night? I thought we were past this. This isn’t Afghanistan. You are part of a team now. You can’t go rogue or decide to withhold information.” 

Ben glanced at Rey who was doing her best to avoid eye contact. Her cheeks were flushed pink. 

“Nothing to say?” He asked her sarcastically.

Rey quietly shook her head.

Ben turned and stalked back into the house. He went up the stairs. Rey was running after him.

“Ben, wait! Don’t walk away.” Rey pleaded.

“I can’t talk to you right now.” Ben went into the master bedroom and grabbed some clothes out of his dresser. “I’m angry and I don’t want to say something I will regret.” It was Ben who was avoiding eye contact now.

“Where are you going?” Rey asked.

“To get some sleep. I’m tired.” He grabbed a pillow off the bed and turned to exit the room.

“So you’re going back to the couch again?” Rey asked in a quiet voice. 

Ben couldn’t turn around. He couldn’t look at her right now. Especially if she were crying, as he thought she might be. He took a deep breath “Yes.”

He heard a small sniffle, “Ok.” 

He sighed and looked down at his feet, “Look I’m just angry. I understand why you went to Luke. I get it. But, I can’t talk to you right now. Tomorrow, Ok? I need some time to calm down.”

Another sniffle. “Ok.” 

Ben headed down into the living room and set up his pillow and blanket. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and settled onto the couch. He kept glancing up at the stairs. He had thought Rey might come down to try and talk to him but she didn’t. As he sipped from his beer and thought about it his anger subsided. It was hard to stay mad at her. He understood why she went to Luke. Luke was her hero. Luke had been his hero once too. 

A vibration from his pocket jolted him back to reality. He fished out his phone and glanced at the screen. Three missed calls from his mother and a text from his father telling him to call his mother. What in God’s name did that woman want now? As he dialed his mother, he imagined various hideous scenarios involving him having to spend time with her. Probably some dinner party or something equally irritating that he wouldn’t want to attend. 

“Ben! Thank God, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day. I have something really important to tell you. Can you meet with me tomorrow?”

“Mom I really can’t. I’m in the middle of a homicide investigation here. Can’t you just tell me over the phone?”

“Why are you always so difficult, Benjamin?” Leia took a deep breath. “I have decided that I am going to run for president. I am making an official announcement next week.”

“President of what?” Ben asked hesitantly.

“President of The United States. Really, Benjamin. What else would it be?” Leia said with a laugh.

Ben sat in stunned silence for so long that Leia finally said, “Hello? Benjamin? Are you still there?”

“Mom, are you sure that’s a good idea? When you put yourself out there the media is going to be brutal. You will never have privacy again. It’s just . .. I mean . .. what . . . have you...what did Dad say?” Ben was frantically stumbling over his words. 

“Sweetie I have been a senator for a while now. I’m perfectly capable of dealing with the media. Your father is fine. He’ll do whatever I tell him. We did a focus group a few months ago and people were very receptive to the idea of my candidacy. I’m very excited. Can I count on your support?” 

“Of course. Look, Mom, I’ve got to get some sleep. We can talk later this week, OK?”

“Ok Benjamin. Good night. I love you.”

Ben hit the end button and stared at his phone. Has everyone in the world lost their minds today?

It had been a very long day and he didn’t want to be alone anymore. Ben grabbed his pillow, went back up the stairs and climbed into bed next to Rey. There were tear streaks down her face and her pillowcase was wet. She had cried herself to sleep. He felt the guilt like a knife in the gut. He wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered into her hair, “I’m sorry” before drifting into a peaceful slumber.

\---

The next morning Ben sat in the living room nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee thinking about the drama of the previous day. Amilyn’s death. Rey sneaking around behind his back with Luke. His mother wanting to be the President of the Land of the Free. Jesus, how much more could go wrong? No sooner had he asked himself that question then the doorbell rang. He frowned and looked at the time on his phone. Who would be ringing the doorbell at 8 AM? He stood up to answer it, but Rey was running down the stairs and beat him to the front door.

Rose stood on the front porch with a pained expression on her face. Deep worry lines were etched into her forehead. Her clothing was disheveled and it looked like she hadn’t brushed her hair today. Was that the same dress she was wearing yesterday?

“Rose? Come on in.” Rey steered Rose into the kitchen. “You look like you need some coffee. What’s up?” 

“It’s Amilyn. She called me two days ago and said that she had something important to tell me but that she couldn’t do it over the phone. I was supposed to meet her yesterday for lunch but she never showed up … and now she’s dead.” Rose trailed off. “Do you think it was about Paige? Do you think she knew what happened to my sister?”

“I think it had something to do with Hux or the HOA. Yesterday morning I saw her arguing with Hux. She had some papers that she threw at him.” Ben admitted.

Rey whipped around and stared at Ben with wide eyes. “How long were you going to keep that piece of information to yourself, partner?” Her tone was icy.

“I don’t know. You lied to me first, going behind my back to contact my Uncle.” Ben shot back at her.

“Guys, this isn’t helping.” Rose said gently. “Why would Hux and Amilyn argue?” 

“That’s it,” Ben said straightening up. “I know that arrogant little prick is guilty of something. I’m going over there and if he doesn’t answer I’m going to kick in his door. I don’t care anymore.”

“Ben!” Rey called at his retreating form.

He was halfway to the front door when Rose’s phone rang. He stopped when he heard her gasp.

“It’s Paige!” Rose cried in confusion. Ben turned back into the kitchen. Rose held up the screen for Rey and Ben to see. “How is this possible? I have her phone. It’s in my house across the street.” 

“Put it on speaker phone,” Ben instructed as they huddled around the phone.

“Paige?” Rose asked quietly.

“Today is the beginning of a new future,” Paige’s voice was soft and shaky. She was clearly being forced to read a prepared statement. Paige continued in a robotic fashion, “Today the tyranny of the current regime will end. Today the nation’s capital will fall to its knees. Today the Supreme Leader will ascend. Today is the beginning. All Hail the First Order. All Hail the Supreme Leader.” 

Suddenly Paige shouted, “Rosie, there’s a bomb at --” they could hear the sound of a scuffle and then the call ended.

Rey wrapped her arms around Rose who was sobbing quietly. “Hey,” she said as she rubbed soothing circles on Rose’s back, “She’s alive. She’s alive and we are going to save her. And, now we know that she’s in DC.” Rey looked up at Ben who nodded.

“We need to get to DC immediately.” Ben pulled out his cellphone and sighed deeply before saying, “I’ll call Luke.”


	10. Red or Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos. I was inspired this week so you get another chapter already. Enjoy!

Within twenty minutes of the phone call from Paige, they were sitting in the back of an FBI van speeding down Route 50 towards Washington DC. Rose was with them. There was no way she wasn’t going to come and Rey didn’t have the energy to argue with her. The driver, who identified himself as an old friend of Luke's, had them almost to DC in record time. Luke was already there, heading to the White House, which was on lockdown. Based on Paige’s message, they figured it was the most likely target for the First Order to strike.

When they were almost to the DC Beltway, the driver called back to the trio, “There’s something on the radio I think you want to hear.” He turned up the volume.

A robotic voice was reciting in loop the same message that Paige had read. They listened in stunned silence for several loops of the message before Ben asked the driver to change the channel. The driver flipped through several stations. The loop was on them all.

“How did they take over EVERY radio station?” Rey asked in surprise.

“You’re the computer savvy one. You tell me.” Ben said.

Ben’s phone vibrated in his pocket.

“Solo here.” He said. Rey watched his face. She could tell he was talking to Luke based on the way he clenched his jaw. She had assumed that at some point during the night he had forgiven her for tattling to Luke. She had been surprised to wake up that morning with his arm around her. They had both acted like the argument never happened. He hadn’t wanted to talk about it in the morning. She vaguely remembered him kissing her goodnight, but maybe she had dreamed that?

“Every TV station??” Ben exclaimed. Rey felt her stomach sink. If they had taken over every radio station and every TV station, they were obviously more sophisticated than the FBI had planned for. “We are about 15 minutes out. Ok. We’ll meet you there.”

Ben looked up to Rey. “This is really bad.” Rey nodded. 

“Change of plans,” Ben called up to the driver. “We need to get to the National Mall. There’s a woman there wearing a bomb sitting on the steps of the Capitol Building.” 

Rey tensed.  _ Please God, don’t let it be Paige _ . Rey reached out and grabbed Rose’s hand tightly. “I’m sure it's not her.” 

A few tense minutes later, the van screeched to a halt within sight of the Capitol Building. Many of the streets had been blocked off by police and FBI. Ben and Rey hopped out of the van and ran toward a small cluster of agents that they recognized. 

Rose peeked out of the van, wondering if she should follow them.

“Don’t worry Miss. Those two are some of the best agents the FBI has to offer. I’m sure your sister will be fine.”

Rose nodded silently as large tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Thank you very much Mr. ---I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” Rose asked politely.

“Pryde, ma’am. Enric Pryde.” He grabbed Rose’s hand and helped her step down from the van.

“Thank you Mr. Pryde.” Rose said as she ran after Ben and Rey.

\---

The FBI had set up a perimeter more than a hundred feet around the woman who was sitting on the steps of the Capitol Building. There were hundreds of cops and FBI agents with guns trained on the woman. As Rey, Ben and Rose approached, the identity of the woman was unmistakable. It was Paige.

“Who is in charge here?” Ben barked. He was pointed in the direction of a man with a megaphone. Ben walked over. “That woman is an innocent civilian and we need to make sure she is not injured. Order these men to lower their weapons. Give me that.” He grabbed the megaphone and addressed Paige.

“Please remain calm. We will have a bomb expert here shortly to disarm the explosives. Do not move.”

“Don’t come near me!” Paige shouted tearfully. “He’ll detonate it. He said he would if anyone tried to stop him.” 

“I’m not going to let that happen. We are going to figure this out.” He handed the megaphone to Rose. “Say something to her. Keep her calm.” 

“Paige? It’s Rose. It’s going to be OK.” 

“Rosie?” Paige started sobbing, “I don’t want to die!” 

“You’re not going to die. Just hold on please.”

“There’s a timer on the bomb. I don’t know how much time is left.”

Rey and Ben exchanged a worried glance.

“Where is the bomb squad?” Rey asked the man who was in charge.

“Yeah about that. . . they got called out a few hours ago to a bomb threat in New York City. It turned out to be a bogus call. They are on the way back but at least an hour out.”

“We don’t have an hour.” Rey said. “I need some tools. Wire cutters, maybe a screwdriver.” One of the agents ran to a nearby van in search of tools.

“Rey, you don’t know how to disarm a bomb.” Ben said.

“No, but I know computers and circuitry. Maybe I can figure it out.” Rey gave Ben a worried smile. “What’s the worst that can happen?” She joked.

Ben was about to deliver a sarcastic remark when his phone rang. He answered without looking at the caller ID. “Solo here.” 

“Benjamin?” His mother whispered in a frightened voice. 

“Mom? What’s wrong?” 

Rey looked up at Ben with a worried look.

“There’s someone here Benjamin. Someone with a gun has taken hostages. I’m hiding under my desk. I heard some shots but I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Mom. Stay where you are. I’m coming to you.”   
  
“Ben, I just want you to know that I love you.”

“Mom, stop. It’ll be OK. I’m coming for you.”

“I know Ben. I love you.”

“Stay under your desk. Don’t move. I’m on my way.”

“Ok Benny.” She hadn’t called him that in at least two decades. It damn near broke his heart to hear it again.

Ben sprang into action as soon as the call ended. “There’s a shooter at the Senate offices. Multiple shots fired. I need a team with me, now. We need to get to Senator Organa’s offices on the second floor.”

Ben and Rey looked at each other. Rey looked from Ben to where Paige was. She was torn between going with Ben and staying here to help with the bomb. She felt like separating from him would be a bad idea but she knew that she could do more good here. 

“I’ve got to go to her.” Ben said.

Rey nodded. “Go. I’ll stay here and try to help Paige.”

Ben turned to leave with a group of heavily armed agents and a medical team.

“Wait, Ben!” He turned and looked at her. “I love you!”

He flashed her a wide toothy grin, “I know.” 

\---

It had only taken the FBI a few minutes to locate tools for Rey. She grabbed the tool box and the FBI draped her in a heavy bullet proof vest and a helmet with a face shield. She doubted very much that those things would help her if the bomb did detonate.They crammed an earbud in her ear and said the bomb squad was on the phone to talk her through it. She slowly walked toward Paige, clutching the tool box. One slow small step at a time. Every step closer had her wondering if the bomb would detonate before she got to Paige. Was someone watching them from afar, with their finger hovering over a detonator?

She made it all the way to Paige without any explosions. She could see wires and what look like sticks of dynamite strapped to a vest that was covering Paige’s torso. Paige was quietly crying and shaking.

“Hi Paige. My name is Rey. I’m going to disarm the bomb and remove it from you. As soon as I do, I need you to run with your hands in the air toward the ambulance at the bottom of the stairs, OK?”

Paige silently nodded.

“Ok Boys,” Rey said to the bomb squad listening in. “I see what looks like sticks of dynamite. About 10 of them.” Rey slowly circled behind Paige and noted the timer. ”There are wires going from each stick to a small digital clock taped to her back. There are only 13 minutes left on the timer.” Rey kept her voice calm despite the fact that she was filled with terror. She knew panic would only make the situation worse.

“Rey, this is Agent Baker. I need you to first remove the front of the timer and let me know what you see inside. Be very careful not to disconnect anything unless I tell you to.”

“Ok. I can do that.” Rey removed a small screwdriver from the toolbox and knelt down behind Paige. She slowly began unscrewing the tiny screws. Her hands were shaking so badly that she stopped for a second to take a deep breath. “You can do this. You can do this.” She muttered quietly to herself. Once the final screw was out she carefully separated the face from the timer revealing a small circuit board and two large wires.

“I see a circuit board with two large wires. One is red and one is blue. The timer is at 9 minutes.”

“Ok Good. I need you to trace the wires and see what each one connects to. You need to cut the wire--” Rey’s ear piece cut out.

“Hello? Agent Baker? Can you repeat that?” Silence and static greeted Rey. “Agent Baker? Shit!” Rey exclaimed. She was on her own now.

As it turns out, disarming a bomb was not easy. She had no idea where to begin. One wrong move and parts of her and Paige would be scattered across half of DC. He said trace the wires and then cut one. Which one? 7 minutes left. The blue wire looked like it was hooked up to the battery compartment. She couldn’t tell where the red one went. It was wrapped around the circuit board and she couldn’t see without breaking the thing in half. The wires connected the dynamite sticks to the timer were all white and she couldn’t see where they attached. What would happen if she pulled the battery out of the back? Would it stop the timer or would it trigger the explosion. Cut the wire? Pull the battery? Terror bubbled in her stomach as she watched the clock wind down.

“Paige, get ready to run honey. I’m going to cut the wire and then pull this thing off of you.”

The timer on the bomb was winding down as Rey stood with her fingers hovering over the wires. Blue or Red? Red or blue? Thirty seconds left. Twenty. With ten second left, Rey closed her eyes, took a deep breath and cut both wires. 

Nothing happened. Rey opened her eyes and looked at the screen. The screen had gone black. She had done it!

Rey pulled the vest from Paige, “Run now.” Paige ran off with her hands in the air. Rey held up her hands and stepped away from the bomb, “We are clear!” Rey yelled. A group of agents moved to Rey to surround the bomb. 

Rey walked back to the perimeter and discarded the bullet proof vest and face shield. She pulled out the ear bud and set everything down before sitting on the curb to take a few deep breaths. She watched as Rose and Paige hugged and the medial team examined Paige. Agents were swarming everywhere, but for now at least, they left Rey alone for a few minutes to get herself together.

“Agent Johnson, good work.” Rey looked up to the face of Enric Pryde, the agent who had driven them here. Pryde took a seat next to her on the curb. “The Supreme Leader will be most impressed with you.”

Rey looked at Pryde’s face with confusion. She felt a sting in her shoulder and looked down to see that Pryde had injected her with something. “Wha-” was all she managed to get out before slipping into darkness.

\---

As luck would have it, Rey had chosen the curb right next to Enric’s van to sit next to. As soon as her body slumped against his, he gently scooped her up and set her in the back of the van. He closed the door and looked around casually. Nobody had noticed. He thought it was ironic that these people had already forgotten about their savior. Disarmed a bomb and now of no further use to the FBI. Typical. Something like this wouldn’t have been forgotten in the First Order.

Pryde smiled to himself and slipped into the driver’s seat. The Supreme Leader was wise. Everything was playing out exactly as he had said. This night would be a glorious night for the First Order.

  
  



	11. Somebody has to save our skins

Chapter 11 - Somebody has to save our skins

The Senate offices, contrary to popular belief, were not located in the Capitol building, but were in fact spread over several historic buildings a few blocks away from the Capitol. Offices were assigned based on seniority. Since Leia was one of the longest serving Senators, she had one of the nicer offices located on the second floor of the large complex. Ben had visited her there frequently as a teen. He knew exactly how to get there. 

As the group of agents fanned out down the hallways, Ben led the way toward his mother’s office. There were bodies all down the hall. He counted at least ten people dead. His panic increased with each body they found. They were stopped by the sound of gunfire at the end of the hallway. Ben could tell, based on the sound, that it was a handgun with a small caliber bullet. 

He shouted down the hallway, “This is the FBI! The building is surrounded. Put down your weapon.” 

There was no response. He moved forward, gesturing to his team to follow closely behind him. As Ben rounded the corner, hugging the wall, he could see the entrance to his mother’s office and a young woman with a handgun pointed at someone inside.

“Hands in the air!” Ben shouted. The shooter turned to look at him. He recognized her as the other missing girl, Kaydel. She raised her gun in his direction. Before Ben or the shooter could fire, Leia grabbed her desk lamp and hit the shooter on the back of the head. The shooter collapsed onto the floor.

Ben looked up at his mother in surprise.

“Well, somebody has to save our skins.” Leia said with a shrug. She threw the lamp on the floor and ran to hug Ben.

“Clear!” Ben yelled. Agents swarmed down the hallway to take the shooter into custody.

“Mom, your bleeding.” Ben lifted his mother’s face. She had a large gash across her brow. 

“She hit me. Why didn’t she shoot me? I don’t think she wanted to kill me Benjamin.”

“She killed several people on her way up here. There are a few bodies in the hallway. Let’s get you out of here. I want the medic to look at you. Close your eyes mom. Don’t look at anything until we are outside. I will guide you.” He took her hands.

“No. I want to keep my eyes open. I have to see what she has done.” Leia put on what Ben fondly referred to as her _ politician face _ . A hard mask of steel. His mother may only be half his height, but she had an inner strength that was ten times his.

Ben nodded in understanding. He quietly steered her down the hallway and to the building lobby. Leia looked at each body with a quiet sadness. Her jaw was set in a hard line. She looked at each face, stopping occasionally to take a deep breath. She had her arm wrapped around Ben’s, squeezing him tightly.

“Come on Mom, this way.” He steered her down the steps and an ambulance. He was surprised to see news vans and reporters from every major station outside. How did they find out if the tv networks are offline? He tried to shield his mother’s face from the cameras, but someone noticed them and started asking questions. A wall of FBI agents pushed the media back behind a barrier. 

As a waiting ambulance examined the gash on his mother’s head, Ben paced back and forth trying to call Rey. He kept getting her voicemail. He noticed Luke standing by the ambulance talking to Leia. After checking on his twin sister, his uncle wandered over to congratulate him.

“Good job kid. We have the shooter in custody and Rey was able to disarm the bomb.” Luke patted Ben on the shoulder.

“Oh, that’s a relief. I can’t get a hold of her.” 

“I’m sure she’s just busy debriefing.” Luke said. 

“I thought you were over at the White House?” Ben asked.

“Nothing happened over there. It was a misdirection. The president has been evacuated to Camp David for the night.” Luke said. 

“What’s with the media? How did they find out?”

“Oh, the radio and TV stations returned to normal about an hour ago. We still have no idea what happened. People across the country were in a panic. We’ve got our tech people on it now. How about giving me a ride back to headquarters? You drove here, right?”

“No,” Ben said, “We came here in the van you sent. My car’s at the house.” 

Luke frowned, “I didn’t send a van. I asked an agent to pick you up but when he got to your house you had already gone. He wasn’t driving a van.” 

“What? He said you sent him. His name was Eric something? Pryde?”

“Enric Pryde??” Luke shouted, grabbing onto the front of Ben’s shirt. Ben’s eyes widened in panic. He had never seen his uncle shout. He didn’t think it was possible for the old man to express this level of emotion.

“I think so.” Ben said, “Why? What’s wrong?”   
  
“Enric Pryde was fired a few years ago. He was taking bribes from a drug lord and looking the other way when several of our agents got killed. He’s the lowest of the low. Self-motivated scum. He’s exactly the kind of person the First Order would recruit.” 

Ben felt like ice water was running through his veins, “We need to find Rey right now. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” 

Luke pulled out his phone and started shouting orders, “Whose in charge over there? Yes. I don’t care, go get him. And find me Agent Rey Johnson.” After a pause his face fell, “What do you mean she’s missing?”

\---

Rey woke in a dark room. She could tell that she was sitting in a chair with her arms tied behind her back. Her legs were also tied. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She felt like she had been hit by a truck. She was clearly still feeling the effects of whatever had been injected into her. Her vision was slowly adjusting. Instead of a big dark blur all she could see was a big light blur. She blinked several times and tried to move her arms. She glanced behind her. Duct tape was wrapped around her wrists and each leg was duct taped to the chair. She slowly started twisting her wrists, hoping to loosen the tape.

How long had she been here? She wondered if anyone was missing her yet? Had Ben been able to save his mother? Where was Pryde?

Rey heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She slumped down in her chair and pretended that she was still unconscious.

She heard the grinding sound of a metal door swinging open.

“See? I told you. I gave her a large enough dosage that she should be out for several more hours.” Pryde said.

“The Supreme Leader did not authorize this. He will be most displeased if the girl is damaged in any way.” Rey was startled to recognize the voice. It was Hux from their neighborhood. Ben had been right!

“Actually Hux, it is  _ you _ that the Supreme Leader is displeased with.” Rey heard a soft click of a gun and then two loud shots. The gunfire startled her and she jerked up and made a soft cry of surprise. Pryde glanced at her, noticing she was awake. He stepped over Hux’s body and walked toward her.

“What’s so special about you? I don’t know why the Supreme Leader is so eager to have you. You look like a nobody to me.” Pryde sneered. He grabbed Rey’s chin and forced her to make eye contact with him. They were interrupted by gasping sounds from the floor. Hux was still alive. Pryde rolled his eyes, “Can’t you just die already?” He muttered. His phone rang and he stepped out into the hallway to answer it. Rey could hear him say, “Yes sir, I’m on my way.” 

Rey felt like time was running out. She needed to get free. “If you untie me, I can help you.” Rey suggested to Hux. He was bleeding badly and not making any attempt to stop the bleeding. 

Hux ignored her. “He’ll never make it. Your pathetic rescuer will arrive in time to watch you die.” Hux’s smile was gruesome. Blood was pouring out of his mouth at an alarming rate. Even if her hands were free, she doubted she could do much to help him. She continued twisting her wrists to loosen the tape. It seemed to be working.

“I don’t need to be rescued.” Rey said, finally pulling the tape from her wrists apart enough to slide one hand out. By the time she got her legs free, Hux had died. His eyes were open and glazing over. A sneer was frozen on his face. Rey bent down to examine him. She smiled as she saw the gun holstered inside his jacket. Pryde didn’t bother to take it with him. She felt around in Hux’s pocket and found his cell phone. 

She laughed to herself as she realized the Hux didn’t have password protection on his phone. She scrolled through his contacts wondering which one was the Supreme Leader. Surely he wouldn’t be listed as “Supreme Leader” in the address book. She looked at recent texts and there was someone listed only as “S.” She dialed the number and tried to calm her racing heart as it dialed.

“General, I thought I told you no contact until after the operation was complete?” The voice thundered. Rey’s eyes widened. It was a voice she recognized. It was Mr. Snoke, the president of the HOA. She remembered meeting him at the barbecue and thinking he was creepy.

“Your General is dead. Enric Pryde killed him.” Rey said firmly. 

A slow maniacal laugh came from the end of the phone. It sent shivers down her spine. “Of course he is, my dear girl. I’ll see you soon. Follow the tunnel.” The Supreme Leader hung up. 

Rey began composing a text message to Ben. Before she could hit the send button, the phone’s screen flickered and went black. Rey pressed the power button and nothing happened. What the hell? Had he remotely deactivated the phone? Rey threw the phone across the room in frustration. Ben would have to figure it out himself.

She grabbed Hux’s gun and ran to the large metal door. She cautiously opened it, trying to prevent any noise. She was greeted by a long bright tunnel that went off far into the distance in both directions. Which way should she go? She noticed a bloody shoe print going off toward the right, so she went that way. The tunnel was damp and musty. She figured that she had to be underground. 

She was wondering whether or not she was even in Washington anymore when she spotted a doorway ahead. She picked up her pace, jogging to the end of the tunnel. She opened the door at the end of the hallway and was greeted with a ladder that looked like it went up about 30 feet. She tucked the gun in her pants and began to climb the ladder. At the top, she lifted a grate and climbed onto a grassy lawn. She stood up and spun around trying to figure out where she was. 

“Oh my God.” She breathed. She was on the White House lawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments and kudos.
> 
> True story - I lived through a mass shooting 2 years ago in my workplace and it was nothing at all like what I have written. There are no words to accurately describe it. The shooting anniversary is coming up in a few weeks and writing this story has been like therapy for me. Stay safe my friends. Be well.
> 
> Check out my new WIP which is an Agatha Christie style who done it!


	12. Showdown at the O.K. Corral

Rey spun around on the White House lawn wondering why it was so quiet and where Pryde had gone. At first, she was afraid to remove the gun from the waistband of her pants. She wasn’t really interested in being shot by an overzealous secret service agent. She chewed on her lower lip, contemplating her options. She finally decided to walk toward the White House and hope that she didn’t get arrested, shot or both.

As she made her way across the lawn, nobody approached her.  _ Seriously, where are all the secret service agents? _ She felt a growing feeling of dread in the bottom of her stomach. Had the First Order taken control of the White House? Where was Luke? He was supposed to have a team of men here. She hoped they had evacuated the President.

As she reached the steps of what looked like a side entrance, Rey removed the gun from her pants and held it close to her. Better safe than sorry.

She slowly pushed open the side door and saw a body laying in a pool of blood in the hallway. She quietly ran to the body and knelt down. No pulse. She felt around in his pockets, hoping for a cell phone. No such luck, but she found a radio clipped to his belt. 

Dilemma. Who could be listening? Good guys? Bad guys? If she tried to reach the FBI and the First Order was listening then they would know she was here. But, don’t they already know she is here? Be silent? Try to warn Ben? Ben. Ben. What would Ben do?

“This is special agent Rey Johnson. The White House has been taken. Repeat. The White House has been taken.” She whispered her message over and over into the radio, glancing around hoping that whoever was listening on the other end was friend and not foe. “Does anybody copy?”

She received no reply. She sighed and set down the radio, “I guess I’m on my own.”

\---

Ben Solo was in a panic. He had ridden back to the Capitol Building after being informed that Rey was missing. His mother had been escorted to the hospital as a precautionary measure and he could now focus all his attention on finding Rey. 

Luke was questioning several agents, “What do you mean the van left? Where did it go? How is it that one of my agents disarms a bomb and then disappears and nobody can tell me what happened?” 

A nervous young agent appeared, “Uhh, Director Skywalker . . . sir? There’s a message coming across the police scanner that you should hear.” He held up his radio and turned up the volume.

Ben rushed over. Rey’s voice.  _ Rey’s voice! Thank God, she was alive. _ “The White House has been taken. Repeat. The White House has been taken.” Ben turned to Luke. 

“Did you leave any agents behind at the White House?”   
  
“No,” Luke said grimly, “We pulled the team out since POTUS is out of town.”

“Let’s go, we need to get there immediately.” 

Luke began barking orders to the men standing nearby. Ben glanced down at his cellphone. A text message from an unknown number. 

‘I like the view from here.’

The next text was a picture of the Oval Office.

\---

Rey had no idea what the interior layout of the White House was. She only knew she was on the ground floor, and most likely in the West Wing. Every door she peeked into looked like some kind of office. There were no bodies, but there were also no people. She supposed that either everyone was dead, or everyone was being held hostage somewhere on the grounds. She stumbled into what looked like a security station, with monitors covering the wall. There were several people standing in the Oval Office. Someone was sitting at the President’s desk, but the chair was turned to face out the window, obscuring the person’s identity. She assumed it could only be the Supreme Leader. Pryde was standing next to the desk, gesturing wildly as if arguing with the person seated at the desk.

Another monitor showed her what she feared. A large group of people were being held hostage by five men with guns. Rescue the hostages or take out Pryde and the Supreme Leader? If she went for the hostages first, then Pryde and the Supreme Leader would almost certainly escape. If she took out Pryde and the Supreme Leader then the men with guns might be alerted and take out the hostages. She wished Ben were here.

She felt a white hot anger burning inside her. She would probably have to kill Pryde and the Supreme Leader. She would need to use the anger to fuel her. She thought back to what Ben had accused her of at the start of the mission. He admonished her for never firing her gun at a living person, only the paper targets at the academy. He had been right. She didn’t know if she could fire her gun at another person with intent to injure or kill. She reached deep down and tapped into the rage boiling down inside her. 

No, this was not the way. She let go of the anger. Her rage dissolved into a sense of calm. It will end tonight. Now.

She found a stairwell and headed up a flight of stairs. She let instinct lead her to the Oval Office. 

The door was wide open, as if waiting for her entrance. Rey walked in, holding her gun in her right hand close to her body, by her hip.

Pryde was standing next to the President’s desk, with his gun also by his hip. 

Rey briefly imagined a gunfight among cowboys in the Wild West. A duel. A showdown at the O.K. Corral. Did that make her Wyatt Earp? She almost laughed at the absurdity.

They stood for a while in silence observing each other. 

Rey was about to speak when the President’s chair slowly turned around, revealing the HOA president, Mr. Snoke. The Supreme Leader.

“Agent Johnson. Welcome to my office.” Snoke said. Rey took a minute to look the Supreme Leader in the eyes. She wondered what in the fuck he was wearing. It looked like a shiny gold bathrobe. Everything about this man scared her, especially the glassy dead look in his eyes. His hands were casually resting on his lap. She didn’t see a weapon but assumed he had one. He looked relaxed. Confident. Insane.

“You are both under arrest.” Rey said in a firm voice. “Drop your weapon, Pryde.” Rey raised her gun and pointed it at Pryde, aiming for his chest.

The Supreme Leader chuckled. He had an almost gleeful look on his face. Did he want his comrade to be shot?

“I think it’s time we ended this, don’t you?” Pryde mocked. Rey hesitated, unable to convince herself to fire. She was still doubting her ability to take a life, even if hers was in danger. Pryde took advantage of her hesitation, raised his gun and fired. Rey closed her eyes, bracing herself for the pain. After a second, she realized she had not been hit. She opened her eyes, staring directly into Pryde’s.

“You missed.” Rey said, not breaking eye contact with Pryde.

“No I didn’t. Right, Lover Boy?” Pryde was looking past Rey at someone standing behind her. 

Rey turned and gasped in horror. Streaks of blood were running down Ben’s left arm. He was leaning against the door frame grabbing his arm. She ran to him and wrapped her arm around his waist to support him.

“It’s not bad.” He whispered to her. “Stay behind me.” He shifted his body so that he was blocking her from Pryde’s line of fire.

“Ahh, Kylo Ren. How nice of you to join us. I trust you haven’t been injured too badly. It would be a shame for you to bleed out before we have a chance to talk.” Snoke mocked.

“I am not Kylo Ren anymore.” Ben said. Pryde snorted.

“Are you sure?” Snoke asked. “Prdye, why don’t you go downstairs and check on our hostages?” He waved his hand dismissively. Pryde bowed to his master and left the Oval Office.

“I must say, it was shockingly easy to take control here. A few well placed men in the secret service, the FBI and the military. A few informants, willing and unwilling. Think how much damage I could do if I actually wanted to stay sitting in this seat.” He placed his arms on the armrest and pushed himself to standing. He turned his back to Ben and Rey and looked out the window. 

“You will never be in a position to cause any more chaos. The only place you will be sitting in is a maximum security prison cell.” Ben spat out.

“No, young Solo. You are mistaken. I will walk out of here, through the front door, unaccosted and into freedom. I will disappear into the shadows, as I have done before. I will always be waiting in the wings, ready to appear, as needed.” Snoke stuck his hands into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed and put the call on speaker phone. “Alpha team, this is the Supreme Leader. I’d like to have a chat with Papa Solo.”

Rey looked at Ben with a horrified expression. “Ben.” She whispered. Ben’s jaw was clenched and he had a murderous look in his eyes.

There were sounds of a scuffle on the other end of the call. “This is Han Solo.” 

“Ahh, Mr. Solo. I trust you are being kept comfortable. Your son is here in case you have any last words for him.” Snoke said.

“I wouldn’t consider being held at gunpoint comfortable. Hey kid. Take care of your mother. Give ‘em hell.” Snoke ended the call.

“Here’s how this works. I walk out. If anyone stops me, I give the order for all the hostages, including dear old Dad to be killed. Do you want to try and stop me?” Snoke stared at Ben. 

“Why leave? What was the point of all this, if not to be in control of the White House?” Ben asked. He was trying to stall for time. He hoped that Luke would have found and freed the hostages by now, but there was no way to know for sure. 

Snoke laughed, “The point, dear boy, was simply to prove that I can do whatever I want. This country does not belong to your pathetic leaders. It belongs to the person with the most power.” 

Ben and Rey could hear the sounds of a helicopter approaching. They saw one circle and land on the lawn of the White House. There wasn’t supposed to be any air traffic around this part of the city. 

“Ahh, there is my ride.” Snoke stepped around them and headed for the door. “Now would be a good time for you to tell your friends to stand down or I will make sure your father dies.”

Rey had a firm grip on Ben’s uninjured arm. She was worried he would try to tackle Snoke and end up getting the hostages, including his father, killed. Ben pulled his police radio out. 

“Luke, have all agents stand down. He will kill the hostages unless we let him board the helicopter. He’s got my Dad.” Ben said in a deadpan voice. 

“Copy, Agent Solo. All agents stand down.”

Snoke smiled. “Good job, Kylo Ren. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other soon. Agent Johnson, very lovely to meet you. I’ll be sure and tell your grandfather what a lovely young woman you are next time I talk with him.”

“I don’t have any family.” Rey frowned and looked at Snoke.  _ What was he talking about? _

Snoke looked at her blankly for a second and then laughed. He was still laughing as he walked out of the Oval Office.

Rey and Ben watched as Snoke strolled casually across the White House lawn, boarded the helicopter and disappeared into the night.

\--- 

In the chaos after Snoke’s departure, Luke’s team had located the hostages in the West Wing and freed them. Pryde had refused to surrender and had been shot, but not killed. Five other men had been arrested. They had apparently infiltrated the Secret Service over the course of several years. Several of the hostages were shocked that their coworkers were secret members of a terrorist organization. Han Solo had been abducted from his home earlier in the day and was safely rescued with the hostages in the West Wing. 

Snoke had been right, it had been shockingly easy for him to take over. His team had only killed three secret service agents, and taken everyone else hostage. It shouldn’t have been so easy, Rey thought.

After making sure his father was not injured, Ben had finally sat down to have his arm examined. Well, technically, Rey had forced him to agree to have his arm examined. The medic was in the process of wrapping his arm with medical tape. Ben balled his hands into tight fists. “Rrrrrr!” He screamed in frustration. The medic who was tending to his arm took a startled step back. “I can’t believe that son of a bitch got away! You heard what he said. He’s going to disappear again.”

Rey stood next to her partner as the medic continued bandaging his arm. She grabbed his free hand and intertwined their fingers. “It’s OK Ben. We’ll catch him one day. We’ll just keep looking. He’s going to make a mistake at some point and we will be there to get him. I promise you.”

“I’m all finished. Keep it dry and follow up with your doctor if you notice any redness or swelling, especially in the next 48 hours. The FBI Medical team will have to clear you before you can return to active duty.” The medic said, giving Ben a weak smile. Ben sat down on the curb next to Rey. He buried his head in his hands, wincing briefly at the pain in his left arm.

Luke walked over to talk to them, looking very old and tired. He took a seat on the curb on the other side of Ben. “We were able to track the helicopter on radar until it disappeared near New York City. How are you doing?”

“I should have shot that bastard in the fucking face.” Ben said vehemently. 

  
Rey sighed, shaking her head. She looked at Luke. She prayed that he could offer some words of wisdom. She had never seen Ben this angry and she wasn’t sure he would listen to her.

“That’s what Kylo Ren would have done.” Luke said gently, “Kylo Ren would have shot Snoke and gotten those hostages killed. But you are not Kylo Ren anymore. You are Ben Solo. Ben Solo cares about people. Ben Solo made a choice to let one man get away so that others could live.” Luke gently patted Ben on the knee and stood up. “You two go home and get some sleep. I’ll check in tomorrow.” 

Rey scooted closer to Ben and wrapped her arms around him. “You did the right thing Ben.”

_ It was me that screwed up _ , she thought.  _ If I had shot Pryde instead of hesitating, you wouldn’t have been injured. You almost got killed because of me.  _

Guilt and self-doubt plagued Rey the entire ride back to Annapolis and well into the night. But, what bothered her most of all was Snoke’s mention of her grandfather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Almost at the end, but don’t worry. I have plans for a sequel. :)
> 
> Check out my other works in progress. I just started a Reylo Agatha Christie style murder mystery "Ten Wise Jedi"


	13. Only the beginning

“We were unable to locate the body of Mr. Hux.” Luke sat across from Rey and Ben at a table outside of Rise Up Coffee. It was the morning after what the media had decided to call “The Night of Terror.” Ben and Rey had stayed up late watching the news hysteria before falling asleep in each other's arms. There was mass panic for several hours. In the light of the new day, people had seemed to calm down. Order had been restored. The side of good had triumphed, or so the world thought.

“What do you mean ‘unable to locate?’” Rey leaned forward in her chair. She knew she was talking too loud. People at nearby tables were shooting her annoyed glances. She lowered her voice. “He was in the room in the middle of the tunnel. Could they not find the room? Maybe I didn’t give good enough directions? I can go back and show everyone where it was.” 

“No, the directions you gave were just fine. We found the room. We found the chair you had been taped to. There was a heavy concentration of cleaning products on the floor, but no body and no traces of blood.” Luke shifted his gaze from Rey to Ben. He sighed deeply before continuing. “At this point, we have to consider the possibility that Hux is still alive.” 

“No way! I saw him die. _Blood_ was pouring out of his _mouth_ . His eyes glazed over. He’s dead!” Rey turned to look at Ben. Her eyes searched his face. She didn’t like what he saw there. “You think he might still be _alive_?”

“I don’t know Rey. Maybe? If someone gave him immediate medical attention he might have survived. Or, maybe it was an act and he wasn’t even really shot?” Ben shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

“Snoke is now the number one person on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, and Hux is number two. If they are out there, everyone will be looking for them. The media has plastered their faces on every news program and website.” Luke assured them. “Look. I need you kids to pack up your stuff and return to your real homes. Take a couple of days off. We are meeting back in the office first thing Monday. Ben, you have to get cleared by the medical team before you go back to work. I made an appointment for you. Here.” Luke slid an appointment card across the table to Ben before standing up to leave. “The moving truck will be there around 2 o’clock today to collect all the furniture.”

Rey nodded, unable to look at either Luke or Ben. She felt like her failures were mounting. She had been the reason that Ben had gotten shot. She felt like it was her fault that the bad guy had gotten away. And now, with the missing body of Hux, it looked like she couldn’t tell the difference between a dead person and a living one. She felt her cheeks flush red. 

“Hey.” Ben leaned forward, trying to catch Rey’s eye. She looked up at him. “I believe you. If you say he’s dead, then he’s dead.” 

“Thank you.” Rey said quietly. The pair finished their coffee in silence.

\---

“Do you think anyone will notice if I take the KitchenAid mixer home with me?” Rey said with a flirty laugh.

“You know, I have one of those at my place.” Ben said leaning against the kitchen countertop.

“Oh?” Rey asked, raising an eyebrow. “Have you ever used it?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. My mother insisted that I needed it. But enough about her.” Ben inched his way around the island until he was standing behind Rey. “There’s something else I need right now.” He ran his hands down her sides, lightly tracing her curves. When he reached the hem of her skirt, he hiked it up, pushing Rey forward so that her torso was pressed against the countertop. He pulled her underwear down past her knees, letting it fall to the floor.

“Ben, what are you doing? We don’t have time for-- ah!” She cried out as his finger slipped inside her. 

“I think we have time. That’s why you wore this short little skirt, right? You wanted me to bend you over this countertop and fuck you senseless.” He began to slowly pump his finger in and out. She arched her back and moaned as he added a second finger. “That’s what you want, isn’t it.”

Rey shook her head. “No,” She said defiantly. She pressed her forehead into the cold countertop as he added a third finger. “Oh God! Yes. Yes, please!”

He turned her over and hoisted her whole body up onto the countertop, dragging her ass to the edge. She sat up reaching for his belt buckle. She pulled down the zipper of his pants and reached her hand inside, pulling his cock free. He pulled her shirt up over her head and threw it across the kitchen. She was wearing a lacy see-through pink bra, which Ben decided to leave on. He pushed her onto her back and hoisted her legs up over his shoulders. As he slowly sunk his length into her they both moaned.

“The first time I saw this kitchen, I imagined fucking you on this island.” He said in a hoarse voice. He began a slow deep thrust. “I imagined how pretty your tits would look, bouncing as I fucked into you.” He slowly pulled out before quickly thrusting in again.

“Oh God, it feels so good!” Rey cried out. “Please don’t stop.”

“Never. I’m never gonna stop wanting this.” Ben reached down to slowly circle her clit with his finger. 

Rey let her hands wander everywhere, running over Ben’s chest, squeezing her own breasts, finally in Ben’s hair. She was careful to avoid his injured arm. She felt every sensation as if it was amplified. The sound of their bodies slapping together was obscene but she couldn’t bring herself to be embarrassed. Rey felt her orgasm build as Ben increased the pace of his thrusting.

“Ben, more! I’m so close.” Ben increased the pressure on her clit. His orgasm crashed over him, and hers followed shortly after. 

They both lay awkwardly sprawled across the countertop for a few minutes, breathing heavily. Ben pulled Rey up into a sitting position. “Move in with me. Please. Neither of us has to be alone anymore. If you move in with me, every day can be like this.” He was desperately kissing a line along her jaw and then finally her lips. He pulled away from the kiss and looked into her eyes.

She smiled up at him with a wide toothy grin. She had never felt this happy. “Ok. Let’s do it.”

\---

**_One week later_ **

It had been a very busy day at work and an exhausted Rey and Ben walked up the front walkway of his home. Ben lived in a cute little colonial-style townhouse just outside of Washington D.C. There was a package in a padded envelope waiting on the doorstep.

“You’ve only been here a few days and you’re already ordering from Amazon?” Ben teased.

“Wasn’t me.” Rey said putting her key in the front door.

Ben bent down to pick it up, “Well it’s addressed to you. No return address. No postage.”

They both stared silently at the package in his hands. Rey looked into Ben’s eyes. She could clearly see that he was worried but he wouldn’t say so.

“Do you think . . . it might be a bomb?” Rey didn’t even want to say the words out loud. They both knew The Supreme Leader was still out there somewhere. He was undoubtedly watching them, plotting some new chaos to disrupt their lives.

“It feels like a book?” Ben said, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You go inside. I’ll open it out here. . . just in case.”

Rey gave Ben a sideways look. “Ben, I’m staying right here. I’m not leaving you alone on the porch with a possible bomb. Just open it.”

He slowly pried the envelope open and peeked inside. “Definitely a book.”

Rey grabbed the package from him and reached her hand inside. She pulled out a hardback book. “An American Killer: The Life and Times of Sheev Palpatine, America’s Most Notorious Mobster.” 

Rey frowned at the cover of the book and looked up at Ben, “This is the guy that Luke put behind bars. Why would someone send me this?” She opened the cover and saw an inscription on the inside.

_To know who you are, you must know where you come from. Sheev Palpatine is your grandfather._

Rey gasped in horror and looked up to Ben. “Look at this. It can’t be true, right? This is him - Snoke - messing with my head!”

Ben silently read the inscription, “Let’s go inside and talk. Someone might be watching.” He glanced casually down both sides of the street and steered Rey inside, closing and locking the door behind him.

“I’m an orphan. My parents abandoned me on the side of the road outside of Las Vegas. I can’t be the granddaughter of a murdering mobster.” Rey was in a panic. Her words came tumbling out of her mouth. She dropped the book on the floor and flew into Ben’s open arms. “Ben, tell me this isn’t true.” Tears were streaming down her face.

“We’ll figure it out. We can do a little digging. My mother knows a lot of people and we have all the FBI’s resources at our fingertips. Even if this guy turns out to be your grandfather, that doesn’t change who YOU are. You are good and caring and loyal and brave and smart and-”

“Alright, alright. I get the point.” She sniffed and rubbed her damp face on Ben’s shirt before whispering, “We’ll figure it out together.” 

\---

**_Several Months Later_ **

Snoke, The Supreme Leader of the First Order, sat on the deck of his luxury beach house on Martha’s Vineyard staring out at the water. It was a crisp fall day. The tourists had long gone back to their homes and the community was once again peaceful. He casually scrolled on his cell phone reading news headlines. He stopped when he reached an article about Senator Leia Organa-Solo. She had secured the party nomination. Early polls were showing her a clear favorite to win the presidency against the incumbent - a doofus who could barely spell his own name. A slow evil grin spread across his face, reminiscent of The Grinch or The Cheshire Cat. 

Snoke clicked on the video and watched the Senator’s speech. If he had a soul, he would have said the speech was very moving. She was calm, poised, likable. Just classy enough to pull in the old voters, and her recent incident of subduing a shooter in her office by hitting her with a desk lamp appealed to young voters who thought she was a bad-ass. As the camera zoomed out to show the family standing behind her, Snoke noticed that Rey was there holding the hand of Ben Solo. 

“How _wonderful_! Everything is unfolding according to my plans.”

His reverie was interrupted by an incoming call. 

“My dear General Hux! What a pleasant surprise. I take it things are going well with the little prison break I asked you to arrange?”

“Of course, Supreme Leader.The target will be free by sunrise.” 

“Excellent. My guest rooms are ready and waiting. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Do not disappoint me, General.” 

“Never, Supreme Leader.”

Snoke ended the call and set his cellphone in his lap. He watched the waves rolling in and out. It was soothing yet chaotic, much like his own thoughts. Unable to enjoy the silence without stirring the pot just a little, Snoke grabbed his phone and fired off a quick text message.

_Congrats to Mommy Dearest on her nomination. All Hail President Organa-Solo. Long may she reign!_

As anticipated, Ben Solo did not reply (neither did Kylo Ren). Snoke allowed his mind to wander to Kylo and Rey. He was quite pleased with how things had turned out in the end. The end! How laughable. This was not the end. It was only the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the comments and kudos along the way. There will be a sequel at some point. I’m trying to finish up my other WIPs and I had an idea for my own Episode 9 that I am going to start soon.
> 
> Check out my other works in progress  
> Ten Wise Jedi - A Reylo Agatha Christie Style Murder Mystery  
> You Imagine an Ocean - A dark Reylo pirate story (probably will have noncon)  
> Valley of the Dead - A Reylo Egyptologist/Thief story with a mummy!


End file.
